


Noxia

by ToTheMax



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, ben lives au, its my fanfic i choose who lives, my house my rules motherfucker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-01-06 01:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 41,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18378140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToTheMax/pseuds/ToTheMax
Summary: With the help of Kenny, Ben survived his fall into the alley in Savannah. Eight wrenching years later, he and Clementine have two children to look out for now: Alvin Lee Jr., the somewhat pessimistic five-year-old Clementine took to taking care of, and Omid DeLancie Jr., the softer six-year-old that warmed up to Ben. They've been hiking it for a while now, but once a car crash takes them to the haven of Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth, they find a home and fight for it.





	1. The Car

**Author's Note:**

> AND SO IT BEGINS..... I hope you'll stick around for the journey of Ben and OJ's perspective through season 4!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben, Clementine, and Alvin and Omid Jr. Have been on the road for weeks. Their supplies are wearing thin so they need to make a stop soon.

Ben couldn't help but stare out the window as the car roared past a walker dragging itself across the road. His arm hung lazily out the window, the other hand raised up feeling the bill of his hat, which he pulled over his tired eyes to block out the shining sun of the morning. An almost empty blue pen lay between his fingers, their calendar marking off yet another crossed-out day as it sat on the dashboard, seeming to soak up the sun's rays.

A repetitive clicking and whirring noise droned from the back seat, giving him a slight irritation, but as he looked over to the driver of the car, he could tell that Clementine was much more miffed, her hands tightly clutching the wheel as she sped onwards down the road. As she reached up to adjust the back mirror, he caught the sight of the kids in the back seat.

The older of the two, Omid Jr., had his head slumped into his jacket sleeve, which was leaned on the window, basking in the sun, though his closed eyes determined that he was asleep. His short, yet wispy black hair flitted around his face in the wind that caught him.

The younger, Alvin Jr., was the source of the annoying clicking; he had his small revolver out, repeatedly popping the chamber out and spinning it before locking it back into place. His bored expression didn't look towards Ben or Clementine, just to his gun.

Ben and Clem shared a look: they said nothing, but they were wondering who should talk to him first. He was obviously closer with Clementine, looking up to and idolizing her more than Ben, but Ben usually carried more of a lightness with the kids.

Finally, Clem sighed fixed the rearview mirror to look at him, chuckling a little awkwardly. “Whatcha doing there, Goofball?” She asked, taking her eyes off the road for a moment to catch him returning her stare for a moment before clicking the chamber of the gun back into place.

“Pretending we got bullets,” AJ replied, leaning his head back and popping the chamber out again, spinning it with his finger.

“Well, don’t,” Clem huffed, taking her eyes away from him and focusing on the road again. “It's getting on my nerves.”

AJ just sighed and set the gun in his lap, fixing his leaned posture and turning to look at the sleeping boy next to him. His face looked troubled, maybe a little angry.

“Hey,” Ben said, “what's wrong?” he turned in his seat to look at the little boy, and then the sleeping one, glad to see him somewhat peaceful. Once his gaze was back to AJ, he tilted his head.

AJ crossed his arms and shrugged. “I don't like Goofball.” He stared at the floorboards in front of him, nudging Clem's seat with his foot. “I'm too big for it.”

Clementine jerked her head back a fraction, her eyes squinting in the sunlight and due to confusion. She kept flitting her eyes to him, then back to the road as she tried to come up with something to say.

“I’m not a Goofball,” AJ went on, “I’m not goofy. I’m tough!”

Clem huffed out a laugh, fighting her giant smirk as she replied, “Would you prefer shitbird?”

Ben tried biting it back, but the old insult urged giggles to rupture from his mouth. He was glad that AJ started laughing, too. “I think that suits him,” he said, earning a bark of laughter from Clementine.

“No, that’s mean!” AJ exclaimed, pointing his finger to both of them. “ _ You’re  _ a shitbird! You too, Ben!”

Ben looked back at him, feigning hurt. “Aw, Alvie,” he said, sticking out his bottom lip. “Can you see me crying?”

The laughter subsided, however, when AJ’s stomach groaned loudly. He winced, and held his hand over his shirt.

“What’s wrong, AJ?” Clem asked, concern already bleeding through her tone. It still shocked Ben how quickly she could go from a happy ray of sunshine he remembered meeting all those years ago, to the somewhat mom she had now become.

AJ just looked up at her, worried. “Hungry,” was all he said, and looked down at his gun.

Ben sighed heavily, the reality of their food shortage bearing on him. “I’ll see what we have,” he said, pointing to the windshield as he looked at Clem, “You keep your eyes on the road.” He bent down to the floorboards, rifling through his and Clem’s packs for any scraps they may have not eaten yet.

Despite being told to keep her eyes on the road, Clem bent to the side to help with the search once her bag was beside Ben in the seat. She dug through with one hand, steering with another, for anything for him to eat, or at least distract him. Her hands met with familiar chipped plastic, and she couldn’t help but grin as she brought the toy out. Ben leaned back, and sighed almost annoyedly.

“Hey there, Alvin Jr.!” Clem said in a fake deep voice as she raised and waved the plastic figuring around-- some character from an old kids show Ben and Clem remember watching. “It’s me, Disco Broccoli!”

Despite AJ trying to keep a frown on his face, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Disco Broccoli isn’t food, Clem. He’s a toy. I can’t eat toys!”

“Aw, Alvie,” Clem pouted in her funny voice.

_ “Clem.” _

“Alright, alright,” Clem said, and set the toy on the dashboard, shifting through her pack again. “Ben, you see anything?”

“Um,” Ben said, flitting through the pockets of his black backpack, fixing the hat on his head as it started to slip off. “Not that I see, no.”

“Ben?” Ben sat back in his seat, looking through the crack through his seat and his door to find Omid Jr., who seemed to have just woken up. There was still a grogginess in his eyes, but he was immediately alert. “Where are we?”

“Uh, on the road,” Ben said, shifting to try and look at him more. “Been driving for a while, bud.”

“We’re always driving,” OJ noted, fiddling with his hands in his lap. “Where are we going?”

“Hey,” Clem said, jerking a magazine out of her bag and handing it to the kids in the back, as a way to change the subject. “How about you guys work on your reading?”

AJ took the magazine, and OJ looked it over disinterestedly. “I don't wanna,” AJ protested.

“I bet it'll take your mind off your stomach,” Clementine said with a tone that suggested he didn't really have any other choice. She looked to Ben, still rummaging, losing hope that they had anything to eat. It was looking like they were going to spend the next few days only running on water, with what little of  _ that  _ they had left. 

The Juniors in the back both groaned, but scooted to each other to look over the magazine.

“Pre… heat… ov-en, to… three hundred sixty duh-- deg…”

“Degrees,” OJ finished for AJ, who was squinting at the magazine. OJ was clearly the better reader, having a year's more worth of practice than AJ, but Ben felt that even he had trouble reading, as to be expected from a six-year-old growing up in a world like this. He sat back in his seat as AJ continued reading.

“take cream, and… van-illa…. Beam--beans! And place in sauce pan and bring to a bo-il…”

Clementine groaned, her own stomach letting out a growl. “On second thought, nevermind. Might just make you hungrier.”

AJ dropped the magazine into the floorboards, crossing his arms.

“This isn't the first time we haven't had food,” OJ said, “and we got through it last time. There's still food out there, we just need to find it!”

Ben smiled at the child, nodding a little bit. “That's right, we--”

“A-ha!” Clementine interrupted him with a loud, familiar crinkling, and a pretty-much-empty bag of chips came out of her pack. “Here you go. ‘Bout all we got.” She passed it back to the kids, and AJ gratefully took it, with OJ being the one to stick his hand in first.

AJ's smile faltered a little as he looked up to Clementine. “What about you?”

Clementine opened her mouth, hesitating only for a moment before smiling at him. “Go for it.”

Ben looked back at the kids, a low ache throbbing out of his side from a wound long healed, but never forgotten. “We'll find something else soon.” he assured, looking at both of them promisingly before turning back around, troubled eyes on the road. 

All he could see was a cracked asphalt snake slithering across the woodland, with no end and certainly not any food. He couldn't tell that to the kids, he wouldn't do that to them. They could face reality later, now there was hope.

“I believe you,” AJ said, and stuck his hand into the bag.

“Me too!” OJ added, reaching forward and parting Ben's shoulder. Ben mustered a smile, but it didn't last long with his thoughts troubling him. 

At this point, he wasn't sure he believed himself. They've been on the road for  _ weeks  _ now, and they were running short on gas. Things were definitely getting grim from his view, but if OJ's optimistic demeanor was anything to go by, they'd have resources pretty soon. There had to be  _ something  _ out here, anything. 

Soon enough, the kids had finished whatever was left in the bag, and an uneasy feeling crept through the car as it roared down the road, dripping with realization that they no longer had any food or water. Despite this, OJ had curled his arm into the nook in his window, settling his head into his elbow and closing his eyes for a few more winks of sleep. AJ took to leaning into the seats, twirling his gun around his finger. Ben was glad they didn't have any bullets, because he knew he heard the trigger click multiple times.

As soon as AJ nodded off, Ben shot Clementine a look. “Do you really think it was a good idea to give AJ the gun?” He asked lowly, taking his hat off to run his fingers through his tied back hair.

Clementine raised her eyebrows, only looking at Ben for a moment. “He knows how to use it, doesn't he?” She defended.

“Well, yeah, but… c'mon, Clem. He's a kid.”

“Ben.” Clementine looked longer at him this time, her expression cross. “We've been over this. If you don't want OJ using guns, fine. But AJ's gonna learn how to use one just in case. I know what I'm doing. I was shooting when I was eight.”

“And he's five.”

“He was born into this. He doesn't have a choice.” Clementine gave him a worried stare, feeling a pang at realizing she had upset him. Still, he needed to know: “And sooner or later, neither will OJ.”

Ben pressed his lips together, feeling his heart twitch. He felt a flare rise in his chest, but he quickly stamped it down before he acted on it and just tugged his hat over his eyes, staring out the window again. He's had his fair share of using guns, and he knew he hated it. He hated how guns felt in his hands, clunky and heavy, and he hated how loud they were, attracting walker after walker to come devour them because AJ couldn't keep his finger off the trigger.

Baseball bats were different. They were lighter, and they may do less damage than a gun, but all it takes is a few good hits for a walker to go down, and that's all he needed. That's all they'd ever need.

Ben only started paying attention to the outside surroundings when Clementine jerked on the brakes, jostling everybody. He rubbed at a stiff spot in his neck, and saw the run down building outside the windshield. AJ's attention was given immediately, but OJ took more time to wake up and rub the sleep from his eyes before picking up his rusty metal pipe hanging behind Ben's seat.

Clementine stopped the car, turning it off as they looked at the old train station. It's been left alone, just like everything else in this world, for a good long while. Still, an unsung hope lingered between the four in the car as they gazed at it.

“Are we gonna do it?” AJ asked, leaned over between the two seats up front. 

Clementine looked back at him, and nodded. “Yeah, get your stuff.”


	2. The Train Station

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four have come to a run down train station in hopes to find food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!! :D

Both kids immediately exited through the back doors of the car, quietly shutting them as to not attract too much unwanted attention. The midmorning sun flared down upon them, but they seemed desensitized to the harsh light after spending all morning in the car.

Once his door was open, OJ immediately took Ben's hand, and with his unoccupied hand Ben slung his backpack over his shoulder, grabbing his baseball bat from the floorboard before shutting the door. He struggled to stand after a moment due to his limp leg, but OJ helped him on his feet. “Remember, OJ--” Ben started, but the child interrupted him.

“--Stick close,” OJ finished eagerly, giving him a tiny smile. “I know.”

“Just making sure,” Ben said, and smiled back at him before following Clementine and AJ. He looked him over and started on his mini-quiz they always did in an unfamiliar place. “Alright, Omie: what's the first thing we do in a new place?”

OJ answered immediately. “We find an easy exit route. A safe one.”

“Good boy. What if there's no safe way out?” Ben fixed his cap to block out the sun from his eyes as they came upon the shack. It looked relatively okay, if not for a couple walkers that AJ and Clem took care of easily.

“Uh, we stick together and power our way out. Just shove through everything and hope it doesn't get us.” OJ dragged his metal pipe along the ground, hitting tiny pebbles further up the path.

“Mhm. Three: what do we do when the monsters come?” 

“Stay strong,” OJ said, his grip tightening on Ben's hand. “We go for the head and hit it as hard as we can.” He raised his pipe as a somewhat demonstration, flailing at the air.

“It's worked so far.” Ben had to smirk at his enthusiasm, and fixed his cap over his head again, wondering if it was becoming a habit. He watched as Clementine and AJ kicked out a walker’s leg and killed it easily. “What's the last thing to remember?”

“If we get hurt, get to a safe place quick as we can,” OJ replied, “Wait for you to come find me.”

Ben breathed in slowly, and nodded. “Yeah, that’s right,” he exhaled. He started to walk faster to catch up with AJ and Clementine, who were now scoping out the outside of the train station for any dangers. “You’re a smart little guy, Juice Box.”

“And you’re a smart big guy, Benny,” OJ nudged his leg and grinned. Ben couldn’t help but laugh at his goofy smile; the smile that reminded him so much of his mother. It seemed ages ago that OJ was just a small bundle in Ben’s arms, with Christa and Clementine around a campfire, and now Ben could barely pick him up without his leg giving out.

“Hey,” Clementine called out, approaching the two and snapping Ben out of his memories, “Why don’t you guys check around back for a way in? AJ and I are trying to get the door open, but we’re not having much luck. We don’t wanna start kicking it in until we know there’s no walkers in there.”

“You got it,” Ben said with a nod. “It’s a rickety old train station, there’s gotta be some broken up planks or something the crawl through.”

Clementine let out an airy chuckle as she lightly pushed his shoulder. “As if you can crawl through anywhere, tallshit.”

“Neither can you, shortshit!” Ben jeered back, pushing her shoulder a little harder with his own giggle.

“Maybe I can,” OJ said, “As the shortest shit!”

Ben put his sleeve over his mouth as he laughed louder at the child’s profanity, letting go of his hand to do so. “Oh, jeez,” he exclaimed, “Okay, okay… c’mon, Juice Box, let’s see if we can find an opening.” He took OJ’s hand again, and whipped his baseball bat around his side a couple times as they climbed up to the porch.

OJ let go of Ben’s hand, but only went far enough to check out the tank of water at the side of the station. “Ben, look.” He opened the top, peering inside. “It looks a little dirty, but it might be drinkable.”

Ben joined OJ’s side, bending down to look closer at it. Then, he righted himself and called out, “Clem, do you know if this water--”

“Don’t drink it!” Clementine immediately shouted, racing to the side to find them. “Don’t, just-- it’s disgusting.” At Ben's quizzical stare, she stressed, “Trust me.”

“First the salt lick, and now--”

“Ben, don't you  _ dare  _ finish that.” Clem jerked her finger at him, serious.

Ben giggled, rolling his eyes. “Sorry, Omie. The water's not good.”

“Aww,” OJ muttered, closing the lid and tapping his pipe against the rusted tank. “Maybe there’s water inside.”

“Hopefully,” Ben said, patting his back and urging him towards the back of the station. The obvious try at the door failed, as it was locked tight. “Uh… OJ, check that window back there, see if we can get in that way,” He ordered, pointing for a moment to the window on the other side of the door, checking the one he was at. 

He kept one eye on OJ as he tried forcing the window open, but even if he did there were several boards and planks in the way of anybody-- even OJ-- crawling inside. He sat his hands on his hips, biting his lip and pulling off some chapped skin in thought.

“This one doesn’t open,” OJ said, pushing his hands against the foggy glass. He raised his pipe over his shoulder. “Should we smash the windows? We could crawl in if we get the glass out of the way.”

“Good idea,” Ben said, “but no. We’re trying not to make a whole lot of noise. We don’t know if there’s walkers inside or not.”

OJ was about to reply, but his sentence shot down when a loud cracking noise ensued from the front of the station. Ben jumped in place, and immediately reached for OJ’s shoulder. “Is it a monster?” OJ squeaked, reaching up and grabbing his sleeve.

The cracking came again, louder this time, and Ben shifted his hold on his bat. “We’ll see.” He inched forward, his lame leg dragging behind his stride. He raised his bat, rounding the corner and finding nothing. “Clem?” He called out, “That you up there?”

AJ peered around the corner, hanging off the wall by his hand. “She’s trying to kick the door in.”

Ben exhaled, relief washing through him and surely channeling to OJ, who relaxed and let go of his sleeve. They both made their way to the front of the station, where Clem was having a third try at kicking at the door to no avail. “Dammit,” She swore, reaching her leg up to rub at her ankle. Her voice gained a sarcastic tone as she looked to Ben and said, “If only we had a crowbar.”

Ben sighed, rubbing exhaustion out of his eyes. “You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?” As his eyes were shut, he shortly relived the moment of jumping across a gap between buildings and losing his prized crowbar in the alley.

“Nope.” Clem gave him a cheeky smile, and motioned to the door. “I know about your knee, but do you think you can try and kick at it?”

Ben took in a deep breath, eyeing the chipped door. “I can’t make any promises, but…” He came towards the door, leaning back on one of the posts. He raised his good leg, and gave the door a hard kick. A loud  _ CRACK  _ indicated that something must have happened. He reached forward and tried the door, which was now moving slightly.

“Hang on,” OJ said, coming to the door and planting his hands on it. “I got it!” He braced himself, then shoved against the door, trying to force it open.

Eventually (and with AJ, Ben and Clementine pushing as well), the door flew open, causing everyone to stumble inside. Ben reached for OJ's shirt once he stopped moving, but ultimately the movement of going forward caused him to fall once his bad leg gained footing, taking OJ along with him.

“Yowch!” OJ cried out, his shoulder roughly slamming against the floor. “Ben, what the heck?” He painfully brought himself onto his elbows, staring bewilderingly at Ben, who groaned and clutched his leg.

“Sorry!” Ben exclaimed, rubbing his permanent injury through the denim of his jeans. “I thought you were gonna fall, so I tried to catch you, and…”

“Looks like you're the one that fell,” AJ said, “Maybe OJ should have caught _you_.”

Clementine laughed a little at him, and held her hand out. “Need help?”

Ben nodded and took her hand, standing with effort. “Yeah, thanks. I'll get a hang of this limp soon enough.”

“You've been going eight years with it,” Clementine said, “weren't you supposed to have it handled already?”

“Ah, shush.” He brushed his tattered letterman off, and then he caught sight of the walkers by the window. They seemed to notice the four too, because then they started snarling. “Oh, shit!” He swore, jumping back and almost falling over again if it weren't for the table behind him.

“Wait,” OJ said, “Look, they're tied up! They can't get us.” He wandered a few steps closer, a ways away from one of them reaching feebly for him. 

Ben furrowed his eyebrows, finally standing straight and walking towards them. He felt panic rise in his throat as the monster stared at him with milky, blank eyes and a gaping mouth. He stopped to lean against the wall and stare, baseball bat in a white-knuckle grip.

Clementine approached the couple of walkers, studying their restraints and finding a note on the floor. “Please leave us alone,” she read aloud, “this is what we wanted.” She stared up from the note, at the couple snarling at them. 

Ben felt OJ grab his hand, and he looked down to see the young boy with his eyes locked on the couple. “Why would they want to be monsters?” He asked, “They look horrible.”

“Well… they had a different look on the world, bud,” Ben said slowly, picking his words carefully. “They might have thought that being a monster was better than… surviving out here.” The mere thought put his stomach in a twist. He didn't like thinking about life in  _ that  _ light, not again. “They must have just lost hope.”

Clem sighed uncomfortably, rolling her sleeves above her elbows a bit as she stepped away from them. “Well, let's respect their wishes and leave ‘em alone. They're not gonna hurt us, if those ropes stay up.”

AJ seemed disappointed at that, but just crossed his arms and followed her away from them. As they went to check out the barred-off section of the station, Ben and OJ went to check out the table to the right that Ben stood on earlier.

“Woah,” OJ said, settling his hands over a mason jar. “Beans!”

“Food,” Ben confirmed, picking up the jar and eyeing it. “Looks homemade, too."

“Hopefully, there's more where that came from.” Clementine said across the room, and tried the locked door. “Huh, just gotta get this door open and see.”

Ben shrugged off his backpack and placed the beans inside next to his spare jacket, then quickly zipped it back up and looked around the station. “Do you see keys anywhere?”

“There,” AJ said, immediately pointing to one of the walkers’ hips: sure enough there was a ring of three keys. “I saw it when we went up to them.”

As Clementine went to grab the keys, the walker snarled and snatched her arm. With quick thinking, she jerked and fell away. “Okay,” she panted, “looks like that's a no-go.” 

She looked back to the barred sector of the station, noting the small entryway where transactions probably took place. “Looks small enough to fit through… for some of us.”

OJ stepped forward, raising his hand like he were in a classroom. “I can climb through!”

“What if there's more monsters behind the door?” AJ protested. “What if they bite you?”

“I have my pipe,” OJ said, raising his weapon to confirm his statement, “I can smash it really hard in the head before it bites me!”

“We shouldn't really take a risk like that,” Ben said. “You're plenty capable, OJ, but… it's dangerous.”

“We should kill the monsters,” AJ agreed. “Then we can get the keys and be safe about it.”

“They told us to leave them alone, though.” OJ said. “Aren't we supposed to leave them alone if they tell us to?”

“But they're monsters.” AJ crossed his arms. “Technically,  _ they  _ didn't tell us anything. It's just the letter.”

“But when they were alive--!”

“OJ, I'm gonna need your help for this one,” Clem said, breaking up the fight that started to brew between the two kids. “I need you to slip in there, and as soon as you get there, unlock the door.

Ben felt a rise in his throat, and he stepped forward. “Wait,” he said, “It's not safe.”

“I'll be okay,” OJ promised, looking up at him. “Really, all I gotta do is open the door.” Ben swallowed hard, and OJ reached up to pat his hand. “I know you worry a lot, but I'll be okay. There's probably nothing in there, anyway.”

Ben resigned, deciding the determination in his eyes was enough to believe him. “Alright, just… be careful.”

“I know.” OJ went to Clem then, getting her help in climbing over the counter and squeezing through the gap. Ben held his breath, listening for any noise with his bat raised over his shoulder. He strained his ears, but all he could hear was the snarling of the walker couple.

He nearly jumped when the door clicked loudly, and OJ presented himself at the open door, a proud grin on his face. “See, Benny? I'm fine!”

“Yeah, good job OJ,” Clem praised, ruffling his short hair. “Why don't you and Mister Worrywart over there stay back, maybe check out some other stuff? Me and AJ can check this room.”

“You're the boss,” Ben jokingly gave her a two-fingered salute, and turned back to the table. “OJ, see anything useful?”

OJ hummed, climbing onto a chair to observe the table better. “Some cans.” He reached over and picked one up, visibly upset upon seeing it was empty. “Ugh, shit.” when he heard Ben snicker, he looked up at his guardian. “What?”

“Nothing,” Ben said, “I just… I can't take it seriously when you cuss.” He found another chair and sat in it, observing the table. “You sound a lot like how I remembered your dad.”

The mention of Omid Sr. was enough to mellow out their glee. They weren't exactly sad, more of bittersweet, with Ben hanging onto those short memories from all those years ago. Ben looked at OJ, and knew what he was going to ask. They had this talk all the time. “Your dad was a really great guy. You weren't even born yet, and he did all he could to make sure you would turn out alright.” The words were an exact echo from the hundreds of other times they've had this chat, but from what he could tell OJ didn't care.

“And he didn't even get to see me.” OJ set his hands on the table, eyes casted downwards. “Do you think he would have liked me?” He played along with the echo of past conversations, asking the same questions word-for-word each time.

And Ben, of course, would reply the same way he did every time. “Are you kidding me, he would have  _ loved  _ you! You're his  _ son _ . Even though him and your mom aren't with us anymore, you know they're watching over you.”

“Yeah,” OJ said. “I… well, I don't know that for sure, but if you say they are… you knew them before I did.” He reached forward to grab another empty can. “What about my mom? I barely even remember her anymore.”

Ben breathed in slowly, trying to fight the moment he knew OJ remembered. “Your mom… was really great. Everything she did, she did it for you, and me, and Clem. She was like me and Clem's mom for a while, too.”

“Before the blood,” OJ interjected monotonously. Despite his lack of emotion, his shudder breath was enough for Ben to reach over the table and hold his hand.

“OJ, your parents were fantastic. If they were here right now, they'd still be pushing through for you. I like to think they still are, y'know?” He rubbed the boy's knuckles with his thumb, trying to get him to cheer up. No matter how many times they have this conversation, this part always choked the both of them up. “They're still protecting you. Both of ‘em, all the way up there.” 

OJ nodded, reaching his other hand up to wipe at his eyes. “I like that talk,” he said. “I wish I could have met Mom and Dad better.”

“Me too.” Ben smiled, and moved his chair closer to OJ. “Hugs?” He opened his arms, inviting him in for an embrace.

Right as OJ leaned into the taller boy's frame, Clementine's shrill voice rang out through the station.

_ “It's rigged!” _


	3. The Crash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Clementine try to get their kids to the car after walkers invade the place. It really doesn't work out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Will Smith voice] its car crash time

Ben jumped up as soon as he saw Clementine make a dash for AJ through the door. With OJ in his arms, he bolted to the front door, but the loud explosion was enough to jar him down to his knees and shake the entire station. He heard OJ scream into his chest as they tumbled to the ground, felt his hands clutching his jacket as tight as he could, and he tightened his own shielded grip on the little boy, bracing for anything to hit him. As long as OJ was safe…

He waited a few terrified seconds before he lifted his head up, peeking through his hair to see what damage had been done. He was surprised to see that, other than smoke, the station seemed relatively okay.

“Clem!” Ben cried out, trying to painfully right himself as he let go of OJ. “Clem, AJ, y’all okay?”

“Fuck,” He heard Clementine shout, “Ben! We need to go!”

Ben tried standing again, the panic in her voice enough to get him moving, but his bad knee swayed and sent him right back to the floor, “Come on!” OJ urged, pulling him by his arm. “Ben, get up!”

“Tryin’!” Ben replied, and forced himself to stand, pain throbbing through his bad leg that he tried to ignore as he limped towards the room. “Clem, AJ, are you--”

“We’re fine!” Clementine insisted, and he ran out of the room with AJ at her heels. “Come on, we need to get to the car. That explosion probably drew in walkers for miles.”

Ben nodded, and surged on after them out the door as OJ held tightly onto his sleeve, his metal pipe raised in his other hand. He shuffled his backpack on his shoulders, and kept an eye out for any walkers. “Okay, c’mon,” he hissed, mostly to himself as he went down the steps. His leg sparked with a new pain every second, but he had to push through it enough to at least get to the car. He could seethe and cry about the pain all he wanted as soon as he was in the passenger seat; right now he needed to run.

As soon as they stepped off the porch, they were greeted by tens of snarling faces, able to grab onto them unlike the couple in the train station. Ben dodged and weaved as best he could, with OJ hitting them hard in the knees to deter them from following. He raised his bat and smashed it against a walker’s head, not enjoying the curdled blood spewing in his face. His footing faltered, and he went stumbling again, but OJ was there to keep him balanced this time. “You can’t fall again!” OJ cried, “You need to keep running!”

“I got it, OJ!” Ben said, leaping to the side to avoid a walker’s claws reaching for him. “Hey, run to the car! I’m gonna catch up!” He knew OJ was capable of running faster than him, and he knew that OJ needed to be safe. “Go, run!”

“No!” OJ refused, yanking on his sleeve. “Rule number one is stick close! You told me not to leave you!” He bounded forward, pulling on Ben’s sleeve again which got him to a faster gait.

“OJ, I swear to--”

“Ben!” Clementine yelled, getting his attention. Her and AJ had three walkers pinned under a door. “Hey, get ‘em!”

“I got it!” OJ said, running towards them with his pipe raised.

“OJ--!” Ben coughed, exhaustion already starting to claim him as he stumbled forward, terrifiedly watching as OJ got right up to their heads, stuck out and gurgling hungrily. He assisted OJ with the kills with a few easy swings with his bat, and he helped Clementine up as she rolled off the door, AJ right beside her. “Come on, we have to move!”

“No shit!” Clementine shot back, already tearing up the dirt with her fast run to the car, now mere feet away.

Despite the short length to the car, Ben could barely stand anymore, much less run. He desperately dragged his limp leg behind him, trying to move as fast as OJ was pulling him. OJ’s screams swam in his tired ears, and the car was only an orange-red blur in his vision. He barely evaded walkers grabbing for him left and right, and he didn’t know how hard he was coughing until he felt something warm splatter up the back of his throat and onto his chin.  _ Keep moving,  _ He demanded himself, pushing forward the last few feet.  _ OJ needs you, don’t you dare give up right now.  _ He felt a blaze in his eyes as he yanked open the back car door, heaving himself inside and only content with it slamming shut when OJ flew into the backseat floorboards.

“Fuck, Ben,” Clem hissed, desperately trying to get the car to start as walkers came to every side of the car, slamming against it with all their feeble strength. “That was way too close.”

“Sorry,” was all Ben could muster as he righted himself away from the crackling windows, swiping at his mouth, not surprised when a fresh bloodstain dyed the offwhite of his letterman. “Fuck, I think--”

“Dammit!” Clem interrupted, feeling the car jostle as she threw it in reverse, knocking down a couple walkers from behind. “Okay, save whatever you were gonna say for later! I need to focus right now!”

OJ grabbed tightly onto Ben’s hand, looking to the passenger seat where AJ sat, gun tightly in hand. “AJ,” Ben called out, “Do you have any bullets?”

“Only a few,” AJ said, “We can’t shoot them all!”

The car surged forward, throwing OJ into Ben’s aching chest, but it quickly slammed to a halt at the base of a tree. The windshield shattered, giving a walker pinned to the front an opportunity to reach forward for Clementine’s arm. Her knife flew from her grip and clattered to the floorboards between the center console, prompting her to cry out in shock. 

Ben sat up from his position, but only got the cold hands of a walker gripping onto his neck. “Fuck--!” He choked out, surging his body forward to try and throw the walker off, but that only allowed the walker to slip inside the car. “OJ!” He hissed, flipping with all his strength and pinning the walker to the back seat. “OJ, get it!”

OJ cried out, raising his pipe and hitting the walker on top of the head. It only snarled and tried to leave Ben’s grip, but as Ben tightened his hold around the walker’s neck, OJ hit it again, this time caving in the fragile skull. “Did it bite you?” He asked.

Ben took his hands away from the walker, rubbing his arms through his sleeves, checking for any bites. “I don’t think--”

“Shit!” Clem exclaimed, the car moving forward again, swerving to dodge the oncoming walkers in the road. It seemed fruitless with the walker in the windshield still half-alive and reaching for her. “Guys, where’d my knife go? I-I need something!”

“Here!” OJ offered, holding out his bloody pipe. “Quick, smash it!”

Clem snatched the pipe gratefully, immediately swinging it out and bashing the walker in the head. It groaned and slipped forward, and she took another fearful swing at it, but it still didn’t go down.

Ben opened the back door, shoving the walker corpse out of the car. It was then that he took note of just how fast the car was going. “Shit,” he shouted, leaning out to grab the open door. “Clem, the--!” 

A sharp pain in his abdomen shocked him to silence, and he groaned loudly, panic rising to the highest peak as he felt his grip slip from the door, and his head dipped to the asphalt they quickly roared over.

_ “BEN!”  _ OJ shrieked, watching helplessly as Ben’s figure tumbled halfway out of the car. He lunged forward, grabbing Ben’s jacket and trying to pull him into the backseat, but the boy’s weight was too much.  _ Come on!  _ He screamed at himself,  _ Pull him up! You can do it! He’s gonna die if you don’t--! _

Clementine screamed, and the car suddenly veered sharply off the road, loudly tumbling into the offroad forest. Ben flew back into the car as it tipped upside down, but he couldn’t do anything as he crashed every which way, the car smashed seemingly to pieces before his fading eyes. 

He felt thick blood trickling down his face and into his eyes, but his entire body was paralyzed as he lay on the top of the flipped car. With his only working eye at the moment, he watched as OJ pulled himself over his body. His little voice rang blurrily, but he could tell the boy was seconds away from passing out, just like him. He cast his final gaze out the window, where the many feet of walkers shuffled forward to claim another meal.

Then, one pair of feet fell backwards as the walker dropped dead.

And then, another pair.

And another.

As his eyes finally slid shut, he caught the sight of arrows lodging into the ground near them, and a pair of hands pulling AJ off the ground.

_ No… Please, don’t take… _

He never finished his thought before darkness swallowed him whole and exhaustion claimed his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic has a discord! You can hang with me and other readers, talking and asking questions about the fic! 
> 
> I hope you'll join us!
> 
> https://discord.gg/HnuZEXg


	4. The School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben wakes up in a safe haven, alone but not for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay WOW this is a long one....... I got Carried Away so you'll have to excuse me

When Ben’s consciousness came to him next, he didn’t immediately open his eyes. Instead, he focused his ears on whatever sound there was round him.

It was quiet. No walker snarls, no horrid crunching of metal, no tires screeching on asphalt… Where was he?

It was comfortable. He wasn’t lying in a bloody heap in the wreck of the car. In fact, he was lying straight, with something more comfortable than a car seat and his backpack under his head; it was an actual pillow. The only uncomfortable thing about his position was his wrist, tightly bound to the rail of the bed. A thick yet scratchy blanket covered his thin frame, and as his eyes finally fluttered open, he was surprised to find himself in a bedroom.

Slowly, gingerly, he sat up (minding his wrist), the ache in his knee hurting the most. His abdomen sparked with a tight pain, but after years of dealing with that particular injury, it wasn’t news to him. What was news was that bandages wrapped tightly around his stomach, his head, and his bad knee, all bloody; he could tell with the throb in his head. He almost brushed it off, but then remembered his lifestyle as a scavenger; they had no bandages, just old t-shirts.

More importantly, they didn't have a home. The closest thing they had to a home the past four years was the car, and that was now nothing but a wreck at the side of the road.  _ Where am I,  _ he wondered,  _ and who brought me here? _

Ben reached his unbound hand out and gently tugged at the duct tape binding his left arm to the bunk bed he woke up on, and with a simple pull it peeled off. He took a moment to gather his breath, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The sharp throb in his leg proved he couldn't walk, but if he had a cane… 

He studied the room. It was obviously for a kid--more than one, considering the twin bunk beds. In front of the half-boarded window between the two beds lay a nightstand with a simple candle right in the middle. 

It then occurred to him that he was alone. Clementine, AJ or OJ were nowhere to be found. It was just him, hurt and confused, slightly foggy-headed. He felt a pit of panic open up in his stomach as he flitted his eyes around the room painted with sunset, expecting a trace of their whereabouts but finding none. 

“No,” he whispered, reaching his hands up to his hair, which he knew was untied, and raked his fingers close to his scalp. “No. No, no… they're not… they can't be gone. They're not, they just…”

_ Be rational,  _ he told himself,  _ there's no way they're dead, or somewhere else. Whoever it is that saved me, they had to find them too. I just need to find them.  _ He looked down at his wrapped leg with dismay, realizing that may be impossible right now.  _ They better be okay…  _

Ben reached up and grabbed the framing of the top bunk he almost bumped his head on, and tried to at least stand with support. Surprisingly, it seemed to work as he leaned on the bed frame. Walking was another challenge, but he could face that later. Right now, he just needed to stand.

He heard the click of a lock, and swiveled his head to find the door to the room opening. He held his breath in his throat, clutching the bed frame with a grip that faded his knuckles to white.  Before he could even comprehend who it could be and what their intentions were, a little boy poked his head through the door. 

He couldn't be any older than thirteen, which threw Ben off. He was expecting an adult, for starters, built and strong, but this was a small, scrawny kid with some sort of scar covering half his head. Wide eyes bored into his own; that and the knife he clutched in his hand proved that the kid was just as scared and confused as Ben was.

“Hello?” The boy squeaked out, swinging the door open a little more and inching forward into the room. “Um, are you alive?”

Ben struggled for breath for a moment, so he nodded. “Yeah,” he exhaled, “I-I think so.” He tried to step forward, but his bad leg immediately shot the idea down and resorted him to the bed again. “Ugh, ow…”

Upon seeing that Ben was sentient, the boy relaxed. His shoulders dropped, though he still held onto his knife. Ben watched as he leaned out the doorway, giving a wave to someone else in the hallway. “You’ve been out for a while,” the boy softly explained, “we thought you were pretty much dead.”

“Well…” Ben felt his hands over his abdominal wound, breathing in slowly and feeling his lungs expand. “I’m alright. Hopefully.”

“I wouldn’t say completely alright,” a new voice said. The authoritative boom made Ben jump a little as he jerked his head back up to the door, where someone new stood. He had a bow strapped to his back, and a side-shaved blonde head with piercing eyes that made Ben shrink a little where he sat. In his hands, he held a familiar backpack. Even though he looked intimidating, Ben was shocked to realize this was still a kid. 

“How are you holding up?” The blonde asked, coming forward cautiously, “You were in the roughest shape, so… not surprising you’d be out the longest.”

“I’m… actually feeling pretty okay,” Ben observed. Without the fuzziness in his head, all there was was an ache in his bones. The throbbing in his leg had subsided, and he was used to his stomach pain at this point. “Honestly, I was in rough shape before the car went off the road, so… nothing I’m not used to.” He set his hands in his lap, looking at the boy, who now leaned against the bed frame and set Ben’s backpack against the bed. “How’d you find us?”

“Well, it’s not that hard to follow the sound of a car crash,” the boy explained, and looked to the smaller kid who was awkwardly standing in the doorway. “Hey, Tenn, I got it handled from here. Why don’t you go help Omar with what he needs for dinner tonight, okay?” The little kid nodded and scampered out the room, his knife now in his waistband. “That’s Tennessee,” he introduced. “We call him Tenn for short. And, I’m Marlon. Your boy said your name was Ben.”

_ My boy…  _ “OJ?” He asked hopefully. “He’s alright? Is-is he hurt?” Ben shifted, swallowing a lump in his throat.

“He’s safe,” Marlon promised. “He’s with two of my people, out in our hunting grounds right now.” He smirked a bit. “The kid’s got enthusiasm.”

Ben huffed out a laugh of agreement at that, and bent over to grab his backpack, which had the handle of his bat sticking out. “Hope you guys didn’t steal from us,” he joked. Sure enough, he unzipped his backpack and found everything where it was, including his prized tattered hat. Gratefully, he brushed a few smudges of dust off it and settled it over his head. He looked around the room again, confusion dawning over his brain again. “Wait, where the hell even am I? What is this place? Who are you guys?”

Marlon snickered at his rapidfire of questions, and sat on the bed next to him. “You’re at Ericson’s Boarding School for Troubled Youth. It’s where any parent would go to send their shitty kid. As for who  _ we _ are… we’re the ‘Troubled Youth’. We’ve been here since all this shit hit the fan. There’s not that many of us left, actually.”

Ben took in the information, now asking questions slower. “You and your people, you’ve been here this whole time? Through  _ everything _ ?”

“Everything,” Marlon confirmed. “I mean, it’s practically a gift from God that we were here when walkers started springing up. We’ve got walls and shelter, hunting grounds for a good food supply. Actual beds and shit.” He ran a hand over his hair, looking to the window. “I mean, it’s a lot more dangerous out there.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Ben mumbled, memories settling into his mind, of the past few years they’ve endured. A thought came to mind. “Wait, if this is a school… where’s the teachers?”

At that, Marlon’s gaze grew icy. “Ditched us the second things started looking bad,” He said curtly. “They all fucked off, leaving us kids to fend for ourselves.” He looked Ben over and muttered, “Don’t take it too personally if the other guys don’t like you at first. You’re the first adult we’ve seen since the beginning. Hell, you four are the first new faces we’ve seen,  _ ever _ ."

Ben heard a falter in his tone, but he brushed it off as the reality of their world seeped in. “Jesus,” he whispered. “That… that’s gotta be rough. I’m sorry.” He reached out, wanting to comfort Marlon, but thought better of it and just fumbled with his hands in his lap. “I-I mean… if it makes you feel better, I’m not that much of an adult. Only, what… twenty-two?”

Marlon snuffed and stood up, raking his hand through his hair again. “Still adult enough for them not to trust you. Just don’t take it personal, alright?” At Ben’s nod, he reached his hand out. “Hey, can you stand up? Your leg looks pretty bad, but…”

Ben accepted his offer of help. “I think I got it.” With Marlon’s assistance, he heaved himself off the bed and stood carefully on both feet, obviously favoring his right leg. “Oof, okay. I should be okay. Uh, what about Clem and AJ? Where are they?”

“They’re alright,” Marlon said, “Fact, AJ and Clem have been pretty much up and at ‘em since they came to. They went to help Violet and Brody at the fishing shack.” He chuckled, and scratched the back of his head. “Gotta say, they seem a bit more violent than you.”

Ben tilted his head, a wondering smirk turning his lips up. “What did they get themselves into?” he asked, limping along with Marlon out the door. “I hope they weren’t too much trouble…”

“Well, Clem nearly got herself shot,” Marlon said, “Picked the lock of her room and snuck out. When Tenn came in to check on her, she had a knife to his throat.” When Ben whipped his head to him, he held his hands up. “She apologized, though, it’s cool. Can’t say we understand completely, but you must have been through a lot.” His gaze travelled from Ben’s face to his collarbone, certainly looking at the scars there. “Glad to know that’s not a walker bite you got there.”

“Oh, this?” Ben reached up and grazed the deep scars littering his neck, remembering the fight with a dog so many years ago. “Yeah, it’s not a walker bite. It, um… a dog lunged at me and Clem a few years back. Hell of a fight, but we got off fine.”

Marlon nodded understandingly, but his eyes lingered on his collarbone. “Clem said y'all had a bad experience with a dog...What about that?” His hand reached up, and he motioned to the charred brand on the other side of his neck. “Where’d that happen?”

Ben froze, his limp pace faltering to a stop. His own hand reached up and grazed the brand he had completely forgotten about for a while. “Oh,” he said. “It’s… it’s nothing. We don’t have to talk about it.”

Marlon stopped beside him, giving a small nod. “Ah, shit… sorry, I didn’t mean to…” He looked down apologetically. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Ben assured, “I just don’t like talking about it.” He fixed his hat over his eyes, brushing back locks of hair behind his shoulder. Talking about his brand lead to memories he wanted to forget-- memories he  _ thought  _ he forgot. With a shake of his head, he started walking again. “Anyway…” He crossed his arms. “If Clem and the kids are helping out around here, is there anything I can do? As a kind of repay for you guys saving us.”

Marlon brightened a bit at that, and started walking again. “Well, you don’t look very physically… fit. No offense, but that limp looks pretty bad. I feel like you can help Willy with lookout, though. Got a sharp eye?”

Be rubbed his eyes, one of which was a bit more bruised due to the injury on his right side. “Well, I can keep a watch for walkers, if that’s what you’re asking.” He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his letterman, tilting his head upwards. 

“Great. I’m sure Willy’ll need the help. He’s a good eye, but… he blows shit way too out of proportion, y’know? Earlier today, he was freaking out about walkers on the fence, and it was nothing we couldn’t handle.” Marlon echoed Ben’s movement of putting his hands in his pockets. “He means well, though. We all do.”

Ben followed Marlon down the steps of the school, noting all the torn wallpaper and scrawlings on the wall. The writings ranged from ‘Ericson Strong!’ to ‘This Is Where We Die’. There were so many different colors, etchings, and handwritings, Ben was surprised to not see the building teeming with students, like how he remembered high school to be. Then, he remembered that Marlon said there weren't many of them left. He kept his thoughts to himself, feeling that what happened to everyone was exactly what he thought had happened.  _ Seeing that much death in one place would have done me in. These kids are troopers. _

Finally, they made it out to what Ben would assume to be the courtyard. It was a fairly large area, with picnic tables set up to the right, as well as a cauldron over a small fire that a boy was hard at work over, making some kind of food. To the left was a bonfire with chairs and couches set up in a circle around it, proving that whoever all was here spent a lot of time around it. The grand gates of the school remained shut, but Ben caught the sight of someone on top of the wall, looking outwards into the forest. “So… just how many people are here?” he asked Marlon, looking sideways at the clear leader of the school. “Besides me, Clem, and the kids, I mean.”

“Counting myself, there’s nine.” Marlon reached his hands over his head in a stretch. “We have a twenty-four-seven lookout in shifts, plus hunting and fishing patrols every day. We’re getting kinda’ low on food, so recently it’s been we eat what we catch every day.” He sighed, leaning against a support beam. “I gotta admit, having four more mouths to feed scared me a bit, but if you can pull your own weight around here it shouldn’t be too much trouble.”

“I can go without eating for a day or two if need be,” Ben offered, shifting his backpack on his shoulders. “I mean, I’m never really that hungry anyways.”

Marlon chuckled at him, and shook his head. “You’re crazy if you think I’m just gonna let you go hungry. I’m sure Omar can whip up enough for all of us.” He nodded his head to the boy at the cauldron. “He’s been doing what he can with what we have, and never fails to impress.”

Ben nodded, looking around the courtyard and finding the little boy from earlier, Tenn, sitting nearby the campfire with some sketchpad in his lap. “It must be quiet around here. Just… out, in the middle of the forest alone. No one’s ever come across this place, even on accident?”

Marlon hesitated to answer, and they both sat on the steps to the school. “Well… no,” he finally answered. “As soon as I could, I went out to the roads and tore down all the road signs that lead people to Ericson. Figured it would be best if we were completely off the radar. There’s some crazy people out there.”

_ You don’t even know.  _ Ben rubbed his hand over his bandaged knee, breathing in slowly. “Uh, how long do your hunting patrols stay out for? Like, when do they come back?”

“Usually about this time,” Marlon replied, “I bet your boy and my guys are on the way now, don’t worry.” He stared out at the gates, squinting a little. “He worried about you, too. Thought you weren’t gonna wake up. AJ had to practically drag him out of the room so you could get some rest.”

“I woulda’ done the same,” Ben admitted, “so it’s no secret where he got that from.” He rubbed the back of his neck, tracing his fingers over his brand for a moment before dropping his arms back into his lap. He was about to say something else, but movement outside the gates caught his attention. With a quick glance to Marlon, he knew he didn’t imagine it.

“Looks like they’re back,” Marlon announced, standing and helping Ben up. “Let’s see what we’re eating tonight, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Ben smiled, trying to brush aside the fact that he was included into the school so easily by Marlon. He’d only been up for about ten minutes, but he felt… at home. “Wait. Does this… uh does this mean we're allowed to stay?”

Marlon, amused, tilted his head back to look at him. “What, you thought we were gonna just toss you out? You're welcome to stay as long as you want. We'd be glad to have you here.”

Ben felt his heart warm as he followed Marlon through the courtyard, his heart pounding faster upon seeing little OJ with something in his hands walking beside a taller boy and girl with something similar over their shoulders.

OJ ceased whatever conversation he was having with the boy when he laid eyes on his guardian. His face broke into a wide, toothy grin, and he quickly handed whatever was in his hands to the boy next to him to run forward into Ben’s arms as he kneeled down. “Ben!” he cried, “You’re awake!” 

“Hey, Juice Box!” Ben greeted, hugging the little boy tightly, relief crashing through him in waves upon seeing he was alright. “Oh, thank God you’re okay.”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” OJ pulled away from him, bouncing on his toes. “No bites or scratches! I mean, my arm is a little scratched because of the car, but I’m okay! I got to go hunting with Louis and Aasim, it was really fun!”

“He was a big help,” the older boy said as Ben stood, nodding appreciatively at OJ. “I’m Aasim, and this is Brody.”

“Hi,” the girl, Brody, said with a kind smile, shifting the empty bucket in her hand to the other. “Glad to see you up and running. Alive, too.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ben said, giving her hand a shake. He now saw that the things over their shoulders were rabbits, hunted and ready to be cooked. 

“Where’s Vi and Lou?” Marlon asked, hands on his hips. “And... AJ and Clementine?”

“Well,” Aasim started, sighing disappointedly. “The thing is, something fucked with our rabbit traps. We only got these three, and not even a fish. All the traps were tripped and cut.”

“Slippery motherfuckers,” Brody said, “The fish kept shyin’ away from the spears.” She set the bucket down with a scoff. “Anyway, yeah. They went to see if they could find anything else, like a last look-through. Should be back in a bit.”

“Are they in the safe zone?” Marlon asked, an edge digging into his voice as he eyed Brody specifically. “Violet and Louis should know to stay, but…”

“We didn’t stick around to find out where they went,” Aasim said, “We just got the rabbits and headed back.”

“Safe zone?” Ben asked, feeling the tension in the air. He held onto OJ’s hand as he asked, “What safe zone?”

“We have our territory,” Marlon explained, “It’s our safe zone. Anywhere outside the safe zone, bad shit happens. We’re supposed to stay in the safe zone. It’s what I told Clem when I gave her that map, I can just hope she’s sensible enough to get it.”

“Clem’s pretty sensible,” Ben promised, “I mean, she wouldn’t blatantly go against rules for no reason. She’s got a reason for everything.” As much as he questioned her motives, he knew she had her own moral compass, and acted on it. Sure, she was a bit impulsive, but she knew what she was doing.

“Well, they’ll be okay,” OJ said, “They always are. Clem is really careful, and so is AJ.”

“If the kid says they’re fine, I believe it,” Aasim said, giving a shrug as he started on his way off. “C’mon, we gotta get these to Omar.”

Brody started to follow, but Marlon took her by the arm. “Ben, how about you take Brody’s share to Omar? Me and her need to talk.”

“Uh--”

“Okay!” OJ agreed, taking the rabbit from her hands, not noticing the unease that Ben did. “Come on, I wanna hang out with Aasim!”

“Uh,” Ben started again, “O-Okay.” He looked to Marlon and Brody, at the uncomfortable glare that passed from Marlon’s face to Brody’s slightly scared stare. Then, he followed OJ on their way to the cauldron.

“A third?” Omar asked, smiling gently at OJ. “Did you catch this one?” He took the rabbit from OJ’s hands, adding it to the pile on the table beside him.

“No, but I did catch one!” OJ said, “Aasim showed me how to shoot the bow and everything. I hit it right in the neck!”

“Good shot,” Omar praised, and looked to Ben. “Nice kid you got. Dinner will be ready in a few.”

Ben nodded his thanks warmly, and followed OJ to the table Aasim sat at. Aasim had set his bow and quiver on the table next to him, and in front of him lay a thick book, opened to almost the middle. “Hi, Aasim!” OJ greeted, taking the seat across from him. “What are you doing?”

Aasim let a flicker of surprise cross his face before he swept his arm over the pages of the book. “Oh, uh…” He scratched the pencil in his fingers over his hair. “Remember that book I told you about in the woods? The one I write in? This is it.”

Ben eyed the book curiously. “You write?” 

“Archive is more like it,” Aasim explained, “I basically write down our day-to-day, what all goes on, that sort of thing. It's mostly so we don't end up repeating our mistakes, y'know? I write ‘em down so I remember.”

“Woah,” OJ breathed, eyes wide as he stared at the book. “You wrote  _ all  _ of that stuff?”

“All of it,” Aasim confirmed proudly. “Gotta say,” he said to Ben, “having you and your guys here is a bit of a pain for me to write down everything. But, at least it's giving me something to do.”

“Well, sorry for the inconvenience,” Ben said, a joking tone keeping conversation light. “Hope you're not writing bad stuff about us.”

Aasim chuckled. “What, other than the fact you're up and walking with  _ that  _ leg? It was completely twisted when you came in through the gates.”

“It's really not that bad!” Ben insisted, lifting his injured leg up on the seat. “It's been a lot worse. It still works, though, so…”

“It used to pop out a lot!” OJ said, “Like that one time when Clem tossed you your bat, and it hit you in the leg?”

“Oh, yeah.” Ben smiled a little. “It's doin’ a lot better now. Barely even feel it."

“How'd you even twist it?” Aasim asked curiously, shifting his arm a little so he could write, though his tilted head proved he was listening. 

Ben froze a little bit, his arms instinctively curling around his stomach. “I, uh… fell. Long time ago.” 

Aasim glanced upwards, deciding Ben's curt tone and sad gaze was enough pressing about his injuries. “Well, at least we found you when we did, you you're still alive.” He set his pencil down in the middle of the pages, flipping the book shut. “Have you talked to Marlon about stuff you can do? There's not much you can do with those kinds of injuries.”

“He said I could be a lookout,” Ben said, taking his leg off the seat to allow OJ room to sit closer to him. “Watching out for walkers and stuff, y'know.”

“Lookout's pretty easy,” Aasim said, then chuckled. “Unless you're Mitch, and you have early morning shift.” He looked around, and gestured to a boy sitting with a younger boy on one of the couches next to the bonfire, carving or sharpening something. “He never wants to get up in the morning.”

Ben smiled at that, and leaned back in his seat. “I'm sure I can take a few extra shifts. No biggie.”

“You won't be saying that when Willy breaks your door open at the crack of dawn, yelling for you to get up for your shift.” Aasim shared a laugh with Ben, and stood up. “Speaking of, I need to see what the lookout schedule is for tomorrow. I'll be right back.”

“Aasim is cool,” OJ said with a happy smile. “I like him. Louis was funny, too. And Brody is really kind. Violet seems a little mad, but she's cool, too.”

“I'm glad you're meeting everybody,” Ben said. “What do you think of Marlon?”

OJ hummed, looking towards the gates, at Marlon in Brody having conversation. “I think he's a little mad, too. He said that he was stressed earlier, because we came here and he didn't know if he could feed us. But he seems nice. Tenn is really cool, too!”

“Oh, yeah?” He cast his gaze to the boy, drawing by the fire next to Mitch and the younger kid. He was relieved there was at least one kid closer to OJ's age he could play with that wasn't AJ. The Juniors were close to one another, but he could tell they got sick of each other a lot.

“Yeah,” OJ rambled, “He's a really good drawer, he showed me some of his art! He says he draws a lot of his sisters. Even though they're not around anymore. That's really sweet.”

“Aw,” Ben said, but felt a pang in his chest. He could only imagine what happened to Tenn's sisters, and decided not to ask. “I'm glad you're making friends.”

And he was. This whole school gave off a homey atmosphere, and he could see himself and the rest of his family staying here for a good long while, maybe until the apocalypse blows over. He had a feeling he was going to stay for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're up to it, why don't you join the Noxia Discord?
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	5. The Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben reunites with Clementine and aquaints himself with some of the kids before dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk what's with me and these long chapters lmao,,,, have some Good Good Ruby Content

The sun had long set when Clementine and AJ came back with two more new faces to Ben: Violet and Louis. None of their hands were full, and they all looked disappointed.

As Marlon went to go check in with Violet and Louis, Clementine and AJ happily gave OJ and Ben tight hugs. “Thank  _ God  _ you're awake,” Clementine said, giving his neck a squeeze before pulling away from the hug. “We didn't know how long you'd be out for.”

“Are you guys alright?” Ben asked, leaning his head to look Clem over a little. “How bad is your damage?”

“We're okay,” AJ said, pulling away from a hug with OJ. “We tried finding some more food, but there was nothing out there.” 

“Yeah,” Clem said, “Aasim was serious when he said the hunting grounds were dry. There weren’t even any fish in the creek.” She set her hands on her hips, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Let’s just hope there’s enough food to go around tonight.”

“Omar said he’s working on it,” Ben said, facing where Omar was standing at the cauldron, pouring in a bowl of something to the dinner. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Clementine nodded, but her gaze lingered on Ben for a moment. “Are you sure you’re okay? You looked really bad when I woke up.”

“No, really,” Ben said, “Now that I’m up and walking, it’s not too terrible.” He reached up and grazed the bandages over his right eye, wincing only a little. 

“At least you’re still alive.” Clementine smiled, and brought him into another hug. “Don’t go dying on me, okay?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Clem.” Ben hugged her back, patting her head a little before looking around the courtyard. “So, who are they?” He looked to Marlon, just now walking away from the two new faces that she came into the gates with.

“Violet,” Clem gestured to the blonde girl with crossed arms and an even crosser stare, “And Louis.” Her gesture went to the taller boy with lopsided dreadlocks and an entertained smirk upon his lips. “They’re pretty cool guys. Helped us scavenge a little bit, at least.”

Louis seemed to hear Clem say his name, because his attention diverted from Violet to them. “Well, well!” He said, holding his arms out in a  _ welcome!  _ gesture. “He lives!”

“Who, me?” Ben lifted his hand, tugging his hat further onto his head as Louis approached them. “Uh, yeah. I’m--I’m alive.”

Louis gave him a nice grin and a nod. “I’m Louis. I watched your kid for you until Clem came and got him.”

“Ben. And, uh… thanks.”

“Hi, Louis!” OJ greeted with a wave. “Did you find anything out there?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Louis said, shrugging. “But, we always have tomorrow. And I’m sure Chef Omar over there will make sure you don’t have an empty stomach, at least for tonight.”

“We appreciate it.” Ben couldn’t help but smile. There was something about Louis’s enthusiasm that was just infectious, and somewhat nostalgic. “Really, thank you for helping us out. We’d probably be dead if you hadn’t pulled us out of the car.”

“It’s not like it was a problem or anything,” Violet said, who had now joined Louis’s side. The statement seemed kind, but her sarcastic snap definitely wasn’t. “I mean, you only made us stop hunting and attracted hundreds of walkers closer to us, probably scaring off all our food, too. No biggie.”

“Vi,” Louis chastised. “Come on. Clem already apologized.”

“We weren’t trying to cause problems,” Ben said, feeling a twitch in his stomach. “Really sorry we did.”

Violet just scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Whatever, Mister Ben.” She brushed some hair out of her face and stalked off, to the gates of the school.

Ben’s mouth hung open, and not even OJ could snap him out of it by tugging on his sleeve. “I’m sorry about her,” Louis said, trying to reassure him. “She's… not too happy about someone old as you being here. She'll warm up, I promise.”

“I really don't mean any trouble,” Ben said, holding his hand up honestly. “I, um… shit, sorry you guys went through so much.” He stared after the girl, sighing heavily. “I’m really not that old!”

“Old enough, it seems,” Louis said, resting his hands behind his head. “At any rate, she’ll be fine with you as long as you don’t piss her off. It’s harder to do than you might think.” He still let a smile cross his face. “I’ll be with Omar if you need anything.”

Ben and Clementine watched him walk off, the Juniors in their own excited conversation about the possibilities of staying at Ericson. “Well, he’s certainly…”

“Loud,” Clementine finished for him, but she was smiling. “I think he was serious about Violet. She was actually really nice when we were out there hunting. Seems pretty easy to set off, though.” Ben nodded and stuffed his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. Clem fixed the bill of her hat, and asked, “Have you seen the dog?”

Ben hesitated, feeling a jump in his heart. “Dog?” He echoed. One of his hands flew up, tracing the bumpy scars of the dog bite on his collarbone. “There’s a dog? Here?”

“Scared the shit out of me,” Clem said, “Came right up behind me and literally crushed a walker’s head. Like, I’m talking the thing was mush, right between her teeth.”

“Jesus,” he breathed, trying to calm his hitching breath.

“A dog?” OJ questioned, bouncing on his toes anxiously. “W-Where?”

“Probably with Marlon,” Clementine said, “Don’t worry. I don’t think she’ll hurt us.”

“At least I hope it’s not another Sam situation,” Ben added. “I don’t think they’ll be too happy if the dog dies here.” He was honestly surprised he remembered the dog’s name. Then again, he doesn’t think he’ll ever forget the fate of the poor dog.

“Well, she’s helpful at least,” Clem said, “Saved me from a walker. She’s pretty trained, I think.”

“What all happened when I was out?” Ben asked, scratching his dog bite and then shoving his hands back into his back pockets. “How long have I  _ been _ out?”

“You’ve been out all day,” Clementine said, “as for what happened, actually not that much. Marlon needed our help with getting a hunting party inside, ‘s when I met Rosie-- the dog. Marlon wanted us to go for another check around the territory, and I decided to come with Violet and Brody to try some fishing, OJ went with Louis and Aasim. Violet wanted to do one last check, so she got me, AJ and Louis to help around there. There’s not a whole ton of food out there…”

Ben nodded, and rubbed the injury on his head again. “Seems they’re going through a shortage.”

“Definitely. This seems like a nice place to be, regardless.” Clem looked up, and felt her eyes brighten as she saw Marlon.

Marlon strode up to them, a light smile on his face as he came up to them, setting a hand on AJ’s shoulder. “Hey, guys. Food’s almost--”

AJ drew in a quick gasp, and in one swift move her jerked his elbow back, hitting him hard in the groin before OJ could stop him. Marlon gasped and doubled over, almost going to his knees. “Oh, fuck!”

“AJ!” Clem cried, her tone accusing. AJ shot his terrified stare to Marlon, then Clem. Then, he scattered off near one of the side gates, away from them. Clementine turned to Marlon, hands splayed out worriedly. “I’m so sorry about him.”

“Are you okay?” Ben asked, bending his knees a little and holding out his hand.

“Yeah,” Marlon seethed, “Yeah, I’m fine. Shit!” He righted himself with a bit of Ben’s help, holding his stomach. “Kid packs a punch, huh?”

“He doesn’t like people coming up from behind him,” OJ explained, “It makes him really scared.”

“Yeah? Still!” Marlon took in a few breaths, trying to regain it. “He can’t go around doing shit like that and expect to eat at the same table as everyone else. You gotta get him under some kind of control, okay?”

“I’ll talk to him,” Clementine said, nodding. “Really, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize he was still so jumpy.”

“It’s fine, just…” Marlon shook his head and ran his hands over his hair. “Yeah. I’ll be around if you need anything. Dinner’s almost ready.”

OJ grasped onto Ben’s sleeve, tugging at the collar of his shirt as he watched Clementine walk off towards AJ. “I don’t know why AJ is so scared,” he said, “We’re safe in here, right?”

“Yeah, we are,” Ben replied, “But… AJ and yourself have been through a whole lot. He handles it differently than you do.”

“He bit Ruby,” OJ said, “When we were waiting for you and Clementine to wake up. Louis was playing the piano, and Ruby came in to see how we were doing, and AJ bit her on the hand. She was really mad.” He looked around the courtyard, and pointed at someone standing near a small fire. “That’s her over there!”

_ First, he bites someone, and then he hits someone else in the dick? Not cool, AJ.  _ Ben sighed, letting go of OJ’s hand to tighten his jacket around his frame. “Well… I hope he fixes that attitude soon. We really don’t wanna make these people mad at us.”

“I wanna talk to Ruby,” OJ decided. “So she knows we’re not bad. She just didn’t have a good first look at us, is all.”

“Alright.” Ben nodded, “let’s go talk to her. Actually, I don’t think I've met her.”

OJ slipped his hand into Ben's, and walked somewhat bouncy towards the girl, whose arms were crossed and her rosy face was lit up by the fire. When the two approached, she just raised her eyebrows. “Hello,” she simply greeted.

“Hullo,” OJ greeted back, “Ben's awake now.”

“I can see that.” She looked Ben up and down, though her expression gave way to a smile. “At least you're up an’ walking. I'm Ruby, me and Tenn are the ones been takin’ care of y'all since you came.”

“Well, thank you very much, Ruby,” Ben said, nodding. “I don’t know where we'd be without your help.”

“Oh, I have some idea.” Ruby uncrossed her arms and set her hands on her hips. “Your boys have been some troublemakers, dunno if you’ve heard.”

“Yeah, I heard what AJ did to you. I, uh… I promise, he’s not usually so aggressive.” Ben scratched the back of his neck, looking behind him at Clementine and AJ, in conversation next to the gates. “I’ll let him apologize for himself, but I can tell you he really didn’t mean it.”

Ruby hesitated, then shook her head and crossed her arms again. “As long as you ain’t training him to attack on command.” Her eyes flitted to OJ, who was staring at the fire. “This little one likes to make a ruckus, huh?”

“What do you mean?” OJ asked, jerking his head up to stare at her. “Did I do something wrong?”

“I’d hope not,” Ben said, tightening his grip on OJ’s hand.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say something wrong,” Ruby eased, “He’s just… a lil’ loud. Put up a helluva fight to stay in the room with you when you were asleep. Stubborn, ain’t ya?”

“I didn’t know if he would be okay,” OJ said, “He was all bleeding and coughing, and last time we got caught in something that bad, he almost didn’t make it.”

“That was a long time ago, OJ,” Ben said, “We’ve gotten better at sticking it out.” he reached up with his unoccupied hand and rubbed his neck, feeling the scars of the dog bite and his brand from the New Frontier. Ironically, it wasn’t the memories from either firsthand experience occupying his mind.

“Well, what happened?” Ruby asked, “If you don’t mind sharing, of course.”

Ben looked down, swallowing hard. If he focused, eyes on the fire, he could still hear OJ’s cries, echoing through the flame-drenched hallways. He heard walkers hissing, bones breaking, shots ringing, horses crying,  _ OJ shrieking _ \--

“It was bad,” OJ simply said, cutting off Ben’s memories. “That’s it.”

Ruby paused, then nodded. “We’ve all been through some bad stuff. It’s alright if  you don’t feel like sharin’.” She cast her worried glance to OJ, shrugging sympathetically. “Sorry if I brought up anythin’ bad.”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Ben forced out, biting the inside of his cheek. “It’s just been rough these past few… years, really.”

“For all of us.” Ruby nodded. “Can’t imagine what it musta’ been like for you all out there. Especially with kids so young.”

“We manage,” Ben said, relieved that his voice was thinning. “Well, for better or worse, we always pushed through.”

The sound of footsteps behind them, made Ben whirl around, and he saw Clementine and AJ approaching the little fire. AJ had his hands fumbled together, but he still looked up at Ruby. Ruby’s smile was gone, replaced with a somewhat agitated frown. “Yes?” she simply asked, giving him a stony glance. Ben figured she was still ticked about her hand.

“Um,” AJ started, “I’m really sorry I bit you. I didn’t mean to, but I just get scared when people sneak up on me, and I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I-I hope your hand is okay…”

Ben smiled at the kid, and then at Clementine, who smiled right back and gave him a nod. To his surprise, Ruby uncrossed her arms again and smiled at AJ. “Aw, sug’, it’s alright. I guess we can all get a little crazy when we’re scared. I accept your honesty, and your apology.”

At that, AJ brightened, and looked to Clementine. “I did it!”

Ben let go of OJ’s hand and backstepped a few feet to Clementine’s side. “Good job talking to him. He apologize to Marlon yet?”

“We’re working up to it,” Clementine replied. “We’re gonna have a look around first, though. Barely got to see this place before I went out hunting.”

“How do the hunting grounds look?” Ben asked, though his eyes remained on the kids, who were in conversation with themselves and Ruby. “Other than practically empty.”

“Well, it’s not a bad spot,” Clem admitted. “The fishing creek is said to usually have fish left and right, must have just been a bad night tonight. Didn’t see a lot of the hunting grounds, but they do have some nice traps set up. They have a good system going.”

“That’s for sure,” Ben agreed. “I’ve been assuming that Marlon is the one running things around here.”

“Yeah, that’s what he told me. It’s still weird that there’s no adults here. I keep walking around and expecting to see  _ someone  _ older than us.”

“It’s a change of pace,” Ben said. “I mean, who knows. Maybe no adults is a good thing. I mean, a kid would know what a kid needs better than an adult. That’s been proven.”

“True.” Clementine nodded. She scanned over the courtyard, a content sigh slipping past her lips. “It’s… nice to be able to slow down, at least for a night.”

“Especially with people your age, rather than a bunch of bigger people.” Ben smiled. “It is nice, you're right.”

He tuned back into the kids’ conversation when he heard OJ delightedly gasp. “A real one?” He asked, standing up from his crouch and looking at Ruby with wide eyes. “Like, a real life one?”

“Yeah,” Ruby said with a nod. “It's been a long time, but I can still ride if you gimme a horse.”

“You ride, too?” Clementine was now into the conversation, a happy smile coming to her face. “I got to learn in my old group. Me and Ben did.”

“It's fun,” Ruby said, “Really a nice experience. Hopefully, you can learn one day.”

Clementine was bright at that proposition. “I haven't seen a horse in a long time. It would be nice to ride again.”

Ben chuckled, rubbing his legs. “I dunno, if I have to post to a trot for three hours again, I'm not sure I'll ever recover this lame leg.”

OJ turned to face him, hands rubbing over his shirt. “Do you think I'll get to ride a horse?”

“Maybe,” Ben replied, “I can teach you if we ever find one.”

“If you can even reach the stirrups,” Clementine jested, sharing a laugh with everyone around the fire. “Anyway… c'mon, AJ. Let's go meet the other kids.”

“Okay,” AJ easily agreed, and slipped his hand into Clementine's, walking away from the fire. 

“So, what's y'all's connection?” Ruby asked, gazing after them for a moment. “Siblings, or just good friends?”

“Not blood related,” Ben said, “but Clem is my sister at this point. We've gone through so much together, and… yeah, she's family.” He felt a proud smile cross his face. “She’s tough as a nail, too.”

“And… the little ones?” Ruby looked down to OJ, who was warming his hands near the fire. “Little brothers, or what?”

“Well,” OJ said, “We didn’t have the same mom and dad. Um, I mean, not at the start. Ben and Clem were there when I was born, though, in the woods. And we were all there when AJ was born, in that old park place.”

“Yeah,” Ben said, “Clem and I were travelling with OJ’s parents for a while, and then we met up with another group, who also had someone pregnant-- that was AJ’s mom, Rebecca.” He shifted back, almost swaying with his limp as he reached up and rubbed his neck, then his hat. “Then some stuff happened. You know how it is. Soon enough, it was just us four. Been on the road with just ourselves for a long while.”

Ruby nodded, a little solemn. “Well, at least you’re still kickin’ and scratchin’. And bitin’, in AJ’s case.” She reached her hand up to her chest, rubbing where AJ had likely bitten her with a small laugh. “Y’all’ve had it tough, I bet.”

Ben shrugged. “It hasn’t been too terribly horrible. I mean, we could still be laying in a car wreck surrounded by walkers, or… or dead.”

“Thank you a lot for saving us,” OJ said, “It was really nice of you to do.”

Ruby grinned, then giggled at him. “Well, it wasn’ gonna be good on the mind if we just left you out ta’ die. I’m glad we could save a cutie such as yourself.” OJ stood up, seemingly wanting to say something back, but he just stammered and leaned into Ben’s side in a half-hug. Ben laughed and pat his head, using his other hand to fix the hat over his own head, looking to Ruby, whose smile was glowing in the fire. “Y’all are good people, I suppose. Uh, for now, at least.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment,” Ben said with a smile.

_ “Okay, guys,”  _ Louis’s voice rang throughout the courtyard,  _ “stew’s done!” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Liking the fic so far? Wanna chat with others that like the fic so far?? Noxia has a Discord server! You can talk with other Noxia fans, as well as myself! You can ask questions about the story and even get sneak peeks! You'll also be notified when a Chaoter goes uo almost immediately!


	6. The Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Clementine get to know Louis, Marlon and Violet better by playing a card game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOF this is a longie...... have the ever-awaited Card Game!

Ben and OJ grouped back up with Clementine and AJ at one of the dinner tables, which also seated Marlon, Ruby, and Louis, with Violet, Brody and Tenn sitting at the table behind them, and Aasim, Mitch, Willy and Omar at another on the other side. They all soon had bowls of stew set in front of them, and Ben couldn’t help but smile as he brought the spoon to his lips. It wasn’t anything too special, but it surely tasted delicious.

“Wow,” Clementine said next to him, “this is  _ good _ . I can’t tell you the last time we had a hot meal.”

“I’ll send the chef your compliments,” Louis said with a nod, and Ben was positive he saw him wink. He looked around the courtyard and spotted Omar at another table with Aasim, and stood up.

“Louis, what are you--” Marlon started, but Louis cut him off.

“Yo, Omar!” 

Omar jumped, and turned around to glance at Louis, somewhat confused with his hands wrung around each other. “What?” he called back. “You don’t like it?”

“You have beautiful eyes!” Louis winked again, this time more exaggerated. Omar’s face fell, and he simply held up a middle finger as he turned back around to his meal.

Ben snorted, spoon in his mouth, and tried to tamp down his giggling long enough to swallow his stew. OJ clearly found Louis as entertaining as Ben did, laughing just as hard and wiping his mouth from some stew that flew out.

“Ah, he loves me,” Louis said, sitting back down and looking at his amused audience. “Okay, the chef has your compliments.”

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, Lou,” Brody called, trying to hide her smirk as she ate. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And a dumbass,” Marlon added, grinning at the boy and lightly socking him in the shoulder.

“What?” Louis protested, hands in the air. “Is it such a crime to compliment my dear friend?” He looked around the table, folding his arms over each other, then picking up his spoon to eat some more.

“AJ, slow down,” Clementine said after a while, looking to her side at the little boy, who had tipped his bowl back into his mouth. “You’re gonna choke.”

AJ paused, setting his bowl down somewhat apologetically. “Oh, my God,” Ben huffed, hiding his smirk with his sleeve. His face was completely covered in the stew. “AJ, wipe your face!”

“That’s the mark of a good meal,” Louis said, although he reached into his pocket and set out a raggy piece of cloth. “But--yeah. You got a little something on your face.”

“Sorr--” AJ’s apology was cut short by a burp erupting from his mouth. His gaze darted to Clementine, and he picked up Louis’s rag. “Uh, sorry. Excuse me, too,” he added, when Ruby sent him a disgusted stare.

Her stare went soft, and she nodded. “Just because everything else died doesn’t mean that manners did,” She said, and they went back to quietly enjoying their meal.

Ben was caught between savoring the food and eating as much as he can. It’s been so long since they had something fresh like this, and made so well, too. He made a mental note of asking Omar what they had to cook with later; he had a feeling he could help a lot with cooking.

“Clem…” AJ mumbled, looking down at his empty bowl, and back up to his guardian.

“Sorry, kiddo,” Clem replied, giving him a shrug. “I’m sure they shared all they could.” 

Ben looked down at his almost-empty bowl, not realizing just how quickly he ate. His arms wrapped around his stomach as he gave OJ a smile, who was finishing up the last of his stew. 

“Heads up, little dude,” Louis said, catching Ben’s attention as he slid his own bowl over to AJ. “I’m full, you can have the rest.”

“Are you sure?” Clementine asked, tilting her head a little.

“Go for it,” Louis assured, nodding.

“That was good,” OJ said, pushing his empty bowl away from him a little with his finger. “Really good. Thank you for the food.”

“Well, thank you for not lettin’ it go to waste.” Ruby scraped the last bit of stew into her mouth before standing up. “Time for me to get to bed, now. Lookout in the mornin’.” She grabbed her bowl as she let, giving the table a wave.

“Goodnight, Ruby!” OJ called, waving to her as she left. “Ben, can I go talk to Tenn? I’m done with my food.”

“Sure,” Ben said, nodding. “Just don’t wander around everywhere.” He gave OJ a semi-tight hug around the shoulders, and watched as he scampered off towards Tenn’s table, where Brody was just standing up to leave. AJ soon followed suit, allowing Ben room to scoot closer to Clementine.

Louis took a look around the table, noting everybody to be finished with dinner. He stood, and flipped his chair backwards, plopping right back down in the seat. “Well,” he said, reaching into his coat. “I think it’s time for something… very important.”

Ben quirked his brow as Louis pulled his hand out of his coat, revealing a deck of cards. “Oh God,  _ goodnight _ ,” Brody scoffed, taking a look at the table before starting at a fast pace to the dorms.

“Violet!” Louis called, raising the cards in his hand to the girl next to Tenn. “It’s time!”

“Uh, time for what, exactly?” Ben found himself asking, arms crossed on the table in front of him as Clementine stacked his and OJ’s bowls on top of hers and AJ’s, handing them off to Marlon who collected them. “Is this some kind of initiation?”

Marlon chuckled at that, and rolled his eyes. “No, man, it’s just a card game.”

“What about AJ?” Clementine asked, craning her neck past Violet to see AJ and OJ leane over the table they sat at, talking to Tenn.

“What about him?” Marlon asked. “Come on, surely you can take your eyes off him for one night.”

“They’ll be fine,” Ben agreed, “They’re only like, five feet away.” He nudged her, trying to get her to lighten up. A card game with kids her age was exactly what she needed, if he was being honest with himself. It would be nice for the both of them to actually unwind. To his ease, she eventually nodded and fixed the hat on her head before turning back to the kids at her own table.

“What’s the game tonight, Lou?” Marlon asked, watching as his friend shuffled the cards around his hands.

Louis couldn’t fight the smirk off his face if he wanted to. He cast a challenging eye around the table before he spoke. “War. The game played by man and beast alike. The only game there is.”

Ben chuckled at his enthusiasm, taking his cap off to run his hands through his hair before settling it back on his head. “Alright, I’ll play. It’s been a while, so I might be a bit rusty.”

“That’s fair,” Louis said with a nod. “Be ready to accept your losses in grace. Clem?” He turned his gaze to the girl next to him.

Clementine was much more confident. “Get ready losers, because you’re all going to lose,” she stated, folding her arms over one another on top of the table.

“Oh-ho,  _ shit _ !” Louis exclaimed, “I like that!”

Violet smirked, and pushed away the stack of bowls in front of her. “It’s easy. Everyone gets a deck of cards, and we all flip the top card. Highest card wins.” She took her cards as they were dealt out, putting them in a neat stack beside her arm.

“And the winner gets to ask Ben and Clem a question.” Louis held a card in front of Marlon’s stack, returning everyone’s confused look. “What?” he asked Clementine, “I wanna get to know you. We all do.”

“Well, what if one of us wins?” Ben asked, “Do we get to ask you guys a question?”

Louis nodded and finished dealing out the deck of battered cards. “It’s only fair.” He stretched a little, then laid his hand over his deck. “Alright; time for round one!” 

Ben grabbed the edge of his top card and flipped it over on the table, and a red two of hearts shone at him. As he looked around the table, and saw an ace of clubs in front of Marlon, who looked rather accomplished.

“Looks like I win,” he said, and looked at Ben and Clementine. “So, guys… you couldn’t have been alone this whole time. Who used to take care of you?” In the two’s hesitation, he slowly added, “Friends, family... anyone?”

“Lots of people,” Clementine answered first, “But the first one to teach me about survival was… Lee. In the beginning, I was stranded at my house, and he came along and found me. We decided to travel together, and... yeah.”

“What’d he teach you?” Marlon asked, intrigued.

“Lots of stuff.”

“Most important thing?”

After a moment, Clementine smiled and said, “How to shoot a gun.”

“Useful stuff.” Marlon eased at her smile, giving one back.

“Yep. I taught AJ the same way.” She rubbed the back of her neck, leaning back in her seat and looking at Ben. “Your turn.”

“Kenny,” Ben answered after a moment, knowing all eyes were on him despite staring at the card in front of them. “My-my friend Kenny. He was kind of a hardass at first, but… he saved my life, and we stuck it out as long as we could.” He reached up and took his hat off, admiring the tattered item. “This was his hat before he gave it to me. He, uh, really got me off my ass, told me to make a stand for myself every now an’ then.” He flopped the hat back over his head, moving locks of hair behind his shoulders. “Most important thing he taught me was that… you can’t leave your family behind.” He fidgeted with the card between his fingers, nodding to indicate he was done.

“Important lesson,” Marlon said, his tone bittersweet. “Must have meant a lot to you.”

Ben nodded clearing his throat. “Yeah, he did.”

Everyone took that as a signal that the round was finished, and flipped over their next card.

“Hey, I win!” Clementine cheered, a pleased smile on her face.

“Hey, you do!” Louis jeered back, grinning wide at her. “So, what do you wanna know?” 

Clementine rested her hand on her chin, thinking for a moment. “Okay, grossest thing you’ve ever eaten?”

“Slugs,” Marlon answered with a definitive nod.

“Uh, horse eyeballs,” Violet answered after him, nodding affirmatively, and with a sneer that proved she w asn’t kidding.

“Cantaloupe.” All eyes went to Louis, who was staring at the table in disgust. “What?” he asked, hands up defensively. “I fuckin’  _ hate  _ cantaloupe.”

“So, nothing  _ actually  _ gross?” Ben inquired, a smirk tugging at his lips as he raised his eyebrows. “Like, y’know, horse eyes?”

“Cantaloupe is far worse than horse eyes,” Louis defended, though his light tone kept the smile on his face.

“Then you’ve never eaten horse eyes,” Violet objected, staring at him pointedly, although her glee was unmaskable.

“I ate a guy’s leg once,” Clementine chimed in, cutting off all conversation. Everyone sent a surprised stare her way, and Ben could tell she nearly shrank back. “I-I’m kidding,” she tried passing off.

“Are you?” Marlon asked, leaning his head on his hand.

“Wait,” Ben started, “Wasn’t that at the farm? From, like, way, way back?”

“Yeah,” Clementine nodded, and sighed, addressing the rest of the kids. “No, I’m not kidding. There was this family way back when, they ran a dairy farm. Our group was short on food, so we decided to go to their place for dinner.”

“Oh, shit,” Louis said, “Were they cannibals?”

“Yeah,” Clementine said, “One of our people got shot, I think.”

“Mark,” Ben recollected. “Yeah, I remember him. Damn, that’s what happened to him?”

“Yeah!” Clem nodded, her curls that poked from beneath her hat bouncing atop her head . “Those farm people, they cut his legs off!”

“And you  _ ate  _ them?” Violet asked, covering her mouth a little. “Fuckin’ hell.”

“Yeah,” Clementine affirmed, crossing her arms. “We didn’t realize what it was until Lee found out and told us. It was a bit too late by then.”

“Oh-kay,” Louis said as everyone stared at them in silent shock. “Yeah, Clem wins the gross food contest.” He ran a hand over his dreadlocks, toying with one of them as he laid the other hand on his deck of cards. “Okay, next round before I throw up.”

Ben took to flipping his next card, and grinned upon realizing his king of hearts was the winner. “Well, well,” he said, looking around the table. “Looks like I win.”

“Looks like you do,” Marlon said, giving him a small smirk. “What’cha wanna know?”

“Don’t pry too hard,” Violet warned.

Ben thought for a moment, humming a little. Louis took to whistling as he came up with a question. Finally, intending to mirror Marlon’s question, he asked, “Who used to take care of  _ you  _ guys? It  _ can’t  _ have been just you guys this entire time.”

“Believe it or not, it really has,” Marlon said. “The adults all left the second shit went bad. Not like they were good caretakers, anyway.”

“Marlon kinda took to organizing things,” Louis said, “and he’s been leading ever since.”

“Well, you’ve kept your people alive and well,” Ben said, shrugging. “Sounds like you’ve done a good job.”

“Pssh.” Marlon waved his hand, rubbing the back of his neck with the other, looking down at his lap. “I-I’d say I do just about as well as anyone else out there.”

“Way better than David.” Ben didn’t realize he had said the statement aloud until Clementine shot him a look.

“What was that?” Violet asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Um,” Ben stammered, “It, um… It’s nothing, just… I just remembered the leader of another community we were apart of, is all. He was a shitbag.” He rubbed his neck, awkwardly clearing his throat.

“Plenty of shitbags out there,” Clementine added, laying her hand over her cards again, signaling that they were done talking about it. “Round three?” She finally tore her gaze away from Ben once everyone started flipping cards.

“Victory Violet.” A grinning Jack of Spades was laid at Violet’s hand, and a pleased smile was playing on her lips. She eyed Clementine with a glint in her eye. “So, Clem. About AJ… well, about both of them, I guess.” Her head turned to the two Juniors sitting with Tenn behind them. “Where are their parents? You guys don’t really look related, so…” She turned back to the table, fingers twitching on the wood. “Just thought I’d ask.”

“They’re dead,” Clementine answered after a moment. “OJ’s and AJ’s parents, they all are.”

“Oh, shit, they’re not brothers?” Marlon turned to stare at the kids. “They look like it.”

“No,” Ben said, “They’re both named after their dads. Omid Junior and Alvin Junior.”

“Could have sworn it stood for Orange Juice and Apple Juice,” Louis butted in, clearly joking. Marlon rolled his eyes and swatted at Louis’s arm. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop.” He once more crossed his arms in front of his chair. “What, uh… happened to them?”

Ben didn’t have to think about what happened to Omid and Christa. His problem was wanting to forget it. “Pretty much all of them got shot,” Clementine answered for him. “OJ’s dad got killed by a scavenger, and so did his mom about a year later. AJ’s dad was killed by some lunatic--”

“Carver.” Ben’s hands were fists in front of him just by merely remembering the cretin.

“--Yeah, him. And… his mom died giving birth to him. They were good people.” Clementine nodded. “We’ve been taking care of them ever since.”

“Yeesh,” Marlon huffed. “Sounds rough.”

“Not as rough as you think.” Clementine set her hand over her deck, ready to flip another card. When a Queen of Hearts in front of her rose above the lesser number cards and Louis’s Jack, she smiled. “And, I win!” She looked around the table.

“Well? Ask away.” Louis spread his hands over the table in a dramatic flair.

Clementine kind of snickered at him, and looked at Marlon. “Um, what’s with your haircut, Marlon?”

Louis’s smile dropped, and he put a hand over his mouth. “ _ Oh _ , boy...”

“Uh, what do you mean?” Marlon questioned, his tone dripping with accusation. His light expression darkened into a scowl.

“She means how it looks like a dead cat,” Violet spat out, fixing him with a glare. “Probably smells like one, too.”

“I look cool!” Marlon defended.

Violet rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say…”

“I  _ say  _ I look cool.” He sent a glare back her way before handling his top card, ready to flip it.  _ Short round,  _ Ben noted, but flipped his card nonetheless.

Violet won the round with a Black King. “Way to go me,” she softly cheered, flicking her fingers over her card. Then, she turned to Clementine. “Here’s something I love to ask when I’m in groups: Out of all of us, who do you think is gonna die first?”

Louis exhaled, crossing his arms. “Jeez, Vi. That’s awful.”

“Oh, I know,” Violet replied all-knowingly, giving him a head tilt and a smirk.

“Hmm,” Clementine hummed, looking among the three. “Well, if Ben’s out of the question--”

“Hey!” Ben playfully pushed her shoulder. “Listen here--!”

“Look, out of all of us at this table, that limp is gonna get you dead first.” Clementine reached over and tapped his bad knee.

“Okay,” Ben admitted. “Fine. Only because of my leg.”

“If Ben had a completely fine leg,” Louis egged on, “Who would it be?”

“Mmm,” Clementine mumbled, though it was clear she made up her mind as she looked at the table. “Louis, definitely.”

“Definitely," Violet agreed immediately.

“Definitely,” Marlon said, nudging his friend’s hand affectionately.

“Definitely.” Louis nodded. As he looked at the table, he shrugged. “What? I’d have said the same!”

Ben couldn’t stop his chuckle. “At least you’re honest with yourself.”

“Exactly, dude.” Louis reached his arm across the table for a high five, which Ben gladly accepted. “Alright, time for the next round!”

Cards flipped, and Louis smiled at his highest card. “I am the greatest card player of all time,” He stated proudly.

“Just ask your damn question,” Violet urged quickly, swiping hair out of her face disinterestedly. Louis opened his mouth, but shut it and took his arms off the table, eyebrows furrowed with the first genuine frown Ben has seen all day.

“What, spit it out,” Clementine pressed, tilting her head a little at him.

“So,” Louis started hesitantly. “Ever, uh… ever had… a boyfriend?”

Violet pressed her hands to her face. “Oh, my  _ God _ !” She exclaimed irritatedly, slamming her fist on the table. Marlon snickered a little, shaking his head.

“What?” Louis asked, hands raised defensively with his voice also rising an octave or two. “It happens! Perfectly valid question!” He looked at Clem, who seemed to be thinking, and leaned towards her a little. “You can ask me if I’ve ever had a girlfriend. I  _ haven’t _ , by the way.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s real surprised by that,” Violet jested, leaned onto her elbow.

“Well, there was a boy one time,” Clementine finally said, winding her hands together in front of her.

“And?” Louis softly pressed, eyebrows raised in interest.

“We were… friends.”

Ben choked out a laugh at her hesitation, knowing exactly who she was talking about. “Don’t lie, Clem.”

“Ben, shut up.” Clementine flung her hand at his shoulder as a playful warning, a grin working its way onto her face.

Ben cast a look down at her, deciding to not obey her wish, as embarrassing her was the much more entertaining option. “His name was Gabe--”

“Ben, oh my--”

“She had the puppy eyes every time he came up to her.” Ben’s face was split into a wide grin that wouldn’t go away as he saw everyone else chuckling.

“I am going to stab you if you keep going.” Clementine had taken her hat off to hide her face, which was surely blushed. 

“Aww,” Louis cooed. “Gabe and Clemmy, sittin’ in a tree--”

“Shut up!” Clementine laughed, waving her hat at him, managing to lightly smack his arm. “It was  _ not _ like that, I swear!”

“Then why are you blushing?” Marlon teased, leaning forward and obviously enjoying every second.

Clementine sighed, leaning forward on the table and looking at Ben. “I hate you  _ so much  _ right now.”

“Aw, love you too.” Ben leaned sideways and gave her a hug, which she didn’t return out of playful spite. Instead, she set her hat over her head and put her hand over her deck of cards. The next round went underway.

“Hell yeah,” Ben praised softly, looking down at his Jack compared to the other number cards. He thought for a minute, then settled on his question, hoping he wasn’t being  _ too  _ invasive. “So, this was a boarding school for problem kids, right? How did you guys get sent here?” He saw the kids draw back, except for Violet who seemed to freeze up. “Um,” he added, “You don’t have to answer. Sorry, I…”

“It’s alright,” Marlon said, although the tremor in his voice contradicted the statement. “We just don’t like talking about it.” He reached up and scratched the back of his head. “We were ‘problem’ kids, that’s all you need to know.”

“Well,” Louis said, “I for one, was sent because of my mad piano skills.” He uncrossed his arms and wiggled his fingers. “Mom and Dad just couldn’t handle me being so great.”

His joking tone seemed to lighten the mood enough for another round. Everyone went to flipping cards, and Clementine won easily with an Ace. “Alright!” She cheered for herself, and then: “okay, worst injury you ever saw?”

“I saw a walker get hit upside the head so hard his eyeballs flew out,” Violet answered, smiling with a shrug. “Pretty cool.”

“I once saw a walker with his insides pulled all the way out,” Louis said, stretching out his arms to his sides for emphasis. “Like,  _ all the way  _ out. It goes on for a while; we got a  _ lot  _ of guts.”

Marlon shifted in his seat, eyeing Ben. “Is it a cop-out if I say that mine is… whatever the hell you’ve got going on down there?” He pointed to Ben’s chest, although ben knew what he was talking about. “Like, I saw it when Ruby went to fix you up, it’s like he has a hole  _ through  _ his body.”

“Oh, that?” Ben sheepishly unzipped his letterman, lifting up his shirt to expose his bandaged abdomen. “Yeah, uh...remember when I said Kenny saved my life? I mean it literally.”

“What happened?” Violet softly asked, intrigued as he settled his shirt back over his body.

“Okay, so, this was way back in the beginning of all this. I was with some people from my old group, and we were going to find Clementine-- I think it's when she got kidnapped?”

“What!?” Louis nearly stood out of his seat. “Hang on, rewind. You got  _ what _ ?”

“Yes, I did get kidnapped,” Clementine answered curtly. “It was a long time ago, and it's a long story.”

“Anyway,” Ben continued, “we were having to jump from a balcony onto a rooftop, because walkers were swarming the rest of the house. I was the last one to jump off the balcony, and… it gave out under my weight.” He pressed his hand to the injury on his abdomen. “The, uh… the balcony impaled me when I fell. It's also how I twisted my leg, initially.”

Louis gawked at him. “Dude! How are you still alive?”

“I dunno!” Ben exclaimed, hands raised. “Kenny just yanked me off and we had to shoved through a bunch of walkers to get to safety. Nearly bled out.”

Violet opened her mouth, but stuttered and sighed. “Lucky son of a bitch, aren't you?”

“Damn right.” Ben nodded.

"You'e fallen off a balcony, gotten  _impaled_ by said balcony, all while Clem got kidnapped?" Louis sat back a little, gripping the front of his chair to keep him from falling over. "Sounds like a riveting life out there."

"Interesting word choice," Clementine said slowly, eyeing him warily.

“What about you guys?” Marlon asked, “what's your worst injury witnessed?”

Clementine answered immediately. “I saw a guys face get bashed in. It was really brutal, there was barely any skin left.”

“Oh, yeah,” Ben nodded with recollection, glad to remember that Carver wasn't around anymore. “That was pretty nasty.”

“Yikes,” Louis started. “Sounds rough.”

“Oh, it's fine,” Clem said, “he had it coming.”

“It's the fucker that killed AJ's dad,” Ben elaborated. “As for me…” He didn't like remembering, but if he was truthful…

“I once saw a guy get sawed in half. Like, all the guts spilled out of him like… the worst spaghetti. On the floor.”

“Oh,  _ damn. _ ” Marlon covered his mouth. “It wasn't a walker?” Ben shook his head. “Christ…”

“Why’d that happen?” Louis asked, but Marlon held his hand out in front of him. “Sorry,” he continued, “you, uh… don’t have to tell.”

Ben just nodded his thanks ready to fip another card and forget about his past experiences, for a bit.

Louis was the winner of the next round with a ten of hearts. “What’d I say? Greatest card player of all time.”

“And  _ very  _ humble about it,” Violet added sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Louis leaned onto the table. “So, Clem and Ben. In all the time you’ve been taking care of the little ones… have you ever gotten separated?”

A gunshot would have hurt less than the pang in Ben’s heart the second the question registered. He stared at his card, unable to stop the flood of memories from just a few years ago. His negative reaction must have been more visible than he thought, because he felt Clementine grab his wrist.

“Um,” Ben said, trying to shake himself off. “I, um… yes, we have. It was a while ago, though. I, um… you know. It’s rough out there.” He uneasily jerked his wrist away from Clementine’s grasp, wrapping his arms around himself.

“Ben,” Clementine softly called, lightly touching his shoulder. “Hey, are you alright?”

Ben almost jumped out of his skin as he recoiled away from her touch, his mind alive with the worst possible things. “Um,” he said, finally standing up. “I-I think I’m gonna head to bed now. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Marlon said with a nod, his face worried and apologetic. “You find me and Clem tomorrow, we can talk about you guys staying long-term.”

Ben nodded, but barely registered the words as he staggered in his lmp stride towards the drm, craving rest and an escape from his memories.

“I hope you don’t mind we set you and your boy in a different room than him and OJ,” Marlon told Clem when Ben was out of sight. “There’s a, uh… lack of beds in rooms.”

“It’s no problem,” Clementine assured. “I’m up for playing a couple more rounds if you guys are.”

“What’s up with Ben?” Violet asked, worried eyes gazing after the dorms. “What was that just now?”

“I don’t know exactly,” Clementine said honestly, watching as OJ dismissed himself from Tenn’s table to go towards the dorms, likely to see Ben. “I just know it has to do with what happened to him and OJ a while back.”

“What happened?” Marlon echoed.

“AJ and OJ were taken from us a few years ago,” Clementine said. “We split up-- me to find AJ, him to find OJ. When we regrouped, Ben just wasn't able to tell me what happened. It was rough, no doubt.”

“Well, I didn't mean to bring up anything bad,” Louis finally said. “I didn't think anything like that would have happened out there, you know?”

“Then why'd you ask?” Marlon scoffed.

“You have been pretty prying tonight,” Violet said.

“Sorry!” Louis crossed his arms over his chest. I wasn't trying to, okay? I just… you know!”

“I'm sure he'll be alright in the morning,” Clementine said. “Just… don't bring it up again. It's rough stuff.”

Only two more rounds were played before everyone realized the game was finished when Ben walked off. The jovial air had disappeared and was replaced with exhaustion, so Louis gathered his cards and bid everyone goodnight.

When OJ made it into his and Ben's room, Ben was already asleep or at least pretending to be. As gently as he could, the little boy climbed under the covers next to him, cuddling against his back. “Goodnight, Benny,” he softly mumbled, giving him a short hug around the stomach before curling back into his ball.

He hoped Ben was okay. It wasn't often he would storm off like that, especially with so many new faces to know and get acquainted to. Maybe it would be alright in the morning.  _ There's only one way to find out,  _ he told himself as he closed his eyes.

Shortly he, too, succumbed to sleep in the comfort of a bed for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! Its time for the obligatory server plug! This fic has a Discord server!
> 
> Wanna talk with other fans of the fic? Wanna talk with ME about the fic? Or just ask me about my day? Or maybe you just want a server where the icon is a picture of Rosie. YOU'RE IN LUCK because the Noxia Discord server has ALL of that!! We hope you can join us!
> 
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	7. The Office

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Clementine get their chores for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God a short chapter???? Holy shit unheard of

Ben woke up the next morning from a prodding in his side. “Hey,” Clementine’s voice swam in his ears, “Ben, c’mon. Get up.” 

Then, OJ’s voice: “We need to wake up!”

Ben groaned, reaching his arm up to block his eyes from the glaring sun. Comfort swelled in him as he sank deeper into the mattress of the bed, his bad leg hanging over the side of the bed. “Mmm,” he mumbled, “Wha’ ‘sit?”

“Marlon needs to talk to us.” Clementine poked his side again, this time grabbing his elbow and trying to tug him up. “C’mon, let’s go.” She was smiling softly despite her firm urging. She hadn’t seen Ben sleep this well in ages, and it pained her to spoil the slumbersome morning, but they really needed to get going. Beside her, OJ leaned back and forth on his feet, pushing against the bed frame.

Ben’s eyes cracked open, and with Clementine’s help he sat up. With a big yawn, he stretched his arms over his head and pressed against the bars of the empty top bunk. “Okay,” he said, tapering off his yawn, “I’m up, I’m up.”

OJ was the first one to grab his hand. “Come on,” he said as Ben slowly got to his feet. “Marlon needs to talk to all of us.”

“Alright,” Ben  said, and grabbed his hat from where it was strewn on his pillow. Once it was settled over his head, he was ready to go, albeit still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. With OJ’s excited lead, he walked down the halls and out of the dorms into the courtyard.

In the yard, he saw someone at the lookout post, a few more kids near the bonfire, and some others by the picnic tables. He recognized Louis’s loud tone by the picnic tables, and spotted him sitting on one and likely telling an extravagant story. Despite the small numbers, it was a very cozy, community-like setting.

“It’s… quiet,” Clementine observed, thinking exactly what Ben was thinking. “Like… remember Prescott? It’s like that, but on a smaller scale.”

“Yeah,” Ben breathed, memories of the past fluttering into the front of his mind. “You’re right, Prescott was  _ way  _ bigger than this, but… yeah, I can see it.”

Clementine’s small smile faded, and her eyes cast down to OJ at their side. “Well… we all know what happened to Prescott.”

Ben froze, his grip on OJ’s hand tightening. Quickly, he spat out a rationalization before his anxiety could stop him. “This isn’t Prescott. This place is completely off the map, and it’s not like… it’s not like  _ they  _ are gonna be messing with us again. Ericson’s stood this long, it can stand some more.”

OJ looked between the two, confusion written all over his face. “What’s a Prescott?”

Ben jarred a little, his breath hitching just a bit. “I, um… I’ll tell you when you’re older.” He took another look around the courtyard, and shook the tension out of his shoulders. “Where’s Marlon’s office?”

“This way.” Clementine lead the way to the admin building, nodding a good morning at Omar as they passed him on the steps.

Inside his office, Marlon was sitting behind a desk in a faded leather chair, with AJ sitting to the side, stroking the head of the biggest dog Ben had ever seen. When they walked into the room, the dog raised her head, ears going flat.

“Hey, Ben,” Marlon greeted, and stood up. He opened his mouth, but a harsh growling interrupted what he was going to say. “Rosie,” he said warningly, turning his head to the dog, who had now stood up.

Ben’s mouth hung open a little, halfway frozen as the dog came towards him, a snarl on her face. “Uh,” he squeaked, “does it bite?”

“She shouldn’t,” Marlon eased, and walked out from behind the desk, catching the dog by the collar. “Rosie, hey. Shh, girl.” He looked behind at Ben, and cocked his head to the side in a  _ come here  _ motion. “I don’t think you’ve formally met her, but this is Rosie. Trust me, she’s not as mean as she looks.”

Rosie was now pretty docile with her head in Marlon’s arms as Ben shakily took a limp forward. He looked back to Clementine, who nodded reassuringly. “Really,” she promised, tilting her head towards the dog. “She’s... pretty sweet.”

“She hasn’t bitten me!” OJ added. “She’s really nice!”

That was enough for Ben to swallow the lump in his throat and close the rest of the distance between himself and Rosie. Tentatively, he held his trembling hand out. “H-Hey there, Rosie,” he stammered. “N-Nice dog…”

Rosie inched her head closer, her nose grazing the back of Ben’s fingers. It almost made him flinch and jump back, but he held still and let the dog lick his hand.  “See?” Marlon said, “She’s not gonna hurt you. She only mauls walkers.”

Ben managed a laugh, and Rosie licked his hand again. He slowly raised his hand to pat the short fur on top of her head, which she allowed. “Aw, good girl.” He righted himself, and she sat down, tongue lolling out of her mouth.

“Alright, now that that’s out of the way.” Marlon held a fist up and whistled, catching Rosie’s attention. Her little ears perked up, and her eyes went straight to him. “Rosie, go lay down.” The dog immediately obeyed, and she trotted back to her bed in the corner of the office, plopping down and snuffing. “Alright. Ben: how you feel about getting some chores in? Is your leg up to it?”

Ben looked down at his bad leg, shifting it a little. “I walked here, didn’t I? As long as there’s no heavy lifting involved, I think I can handle it.”

Marlon smiled at that, seeming a little surprised. “That’s what I like to hear. You mind catching Louis and Aasim on the hunting patrol this morning? We, uh…” His smile faded, and he cast a look over his shoulder out the window overlooking the courtyard. “I dunno if you’ve noticed, but we’re in kind of a food slump right now. And you all are four more meals to make at the end of the day, but I won’t mind making them if you make your stay worthwhile here.”

“Me and AJ are gonna help Violet and Brody with fishing,” Clementine said. “We’ll try to get as much as we can.”

Ben nodded. “The most I can do is promise the same. What do you hunt out there, other than rabbits?”

“Honestly, anything at this point,” Marlon replied, settling his hands over his desk and looking over the map laid out on it. “Rabbits, birds, we’ve even caught a fox once… hell, I definitely wouldn’t be complaining about a deer if you can manage to get one.”

OJ came to the table then, setting his hands on the edge. “Have you ever eaten a deer?”

“Nope,” Marlon said. “We see ‘em, but we can never catch ‘em, no matter how hard we try. We’ve nicked a few, but we’ve  _ never  _ gotten one. We mostly get rabbits, since they’re all over the woods, and make for a fair meal.”

Ben wrapped his arms around his stomach loosely, shifting his stance. “How long are these patrols?”

“As long as we can make ‘em. I wouldn’t blame you if you’re out there all day, just come back before it gets too into the night hours. Omar likes to get cooking when the sun starts to go down. He has a system, y’know.”

“Right.” Ben leaned over the desk, taking one arm away from his stomach to lay on the edges of the map. “You have quite a bit of territory.”

“Well, it used to be bigger.” Marlon sighed. “Then, bad shit happened, and… we had to make a safe zone. I told you about it last night, remember?” He traced his finger over a border of red lines marking the map near the school. “Everything inside these red lines is fair game. Please… don’t go outside the safe zone. There may be resources out there, but it’s just not worth the risk.”

Clementine nodded for both of them. “Got it. We should probably head out about now, right?”

Marlon nodded, lifting his head to look at both of them. “Right. Hey,” he said to Clementine, passing the map to her. “Take this, don’t get lost. Ben, Aasim can get you around the hunting grounds pretty easily. Louis… I just hope he shows up.” He scratched the back of his head, then nodded. “Alright. I’ll see you guys later.”

Ben took OJ’s hand and nodded back at him with a determined smile. “Later, Marlon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what??? The discors server for this fic still exists!! If you wanna chat with me and fans of the story, ask questions and receive sneak peeks on future chapters, dont hesitate to join!
> 
> https://discord.gg/HnuZEXg


	8. The Hunting Grounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben gets to know a bit more about Aasim and Louis while they hunt, and see just how well-equipped they are to survive on their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some good good Aasim and Louis content uwu, I should also say that criticism is always encouraged! If theres something you feel I could work on, dont hesitate to let me know! Thank u for reading!

_****_ Out in the courtyard and equipped with his bat, Ben caught sight of Aasim and Louis starting towards the gates, though they stopped when Ben and OJ approached. “Hey,” Aasim said, rather tired. “Marlon set you up with us for the day?”

When Ben nodded, Louis crossed his arms with a smile. “The more, the merrier, as they say.” He leaned off of what he was leaning on, and swung the object over his shoulder. “I bet we can get a lot done with four pairs of eyes.”

“Or, at least three while you do whatever,” Aasim scoffed, opening the gates, allowing everyone through before he shut them behind him.

OJ was stuck to Ben’s side, but his eyes looked up at Louis’s weapon. “What kind of thing is that?” He asked, pointing up to the nail-ridden slab of wood.

“Oh, this?” Louis hefted the object off his shoulder and into his hands. “It’s a chair leg. I call it… Chairles.” His smirk grew as OJ laughed, and he added a bounce to his step as he followed Aasim’s lead into their hunting grounds.

As they walked among the trees, Ben couldn’t help but smile at OJ’s wonder. The calm morning sunlight filtered through the leaves, shining in patches on the soft dirt trails. OJ stooped down to pick up a rather large green leaf, holding it up to his face. “There’s a hole in this leaf,” he noted, showing it to Ben. “See? It looks like a bullet.”

“Well,” Aasim said, turning slightly to look at the boy, “Caterpillars eat leaves. No one here has a gun.”

“Well, except AJ,” Louis added. “That thing is bigger than he is.”

Ben snuffed, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “As much as I don’t like him having it, he’s a good shot, and Clementine taught him, so he knows how to use it without firing off at everything.”

“And you didn’t teach OJ?” Aasim questioned, shifting his bow from one hand to the other.

“Ben likes using baseball bats,” OJ piped up, “and crowbars, and all that kinda stuff. You don’t need bullets to kill walkers.”

Ben nodded, stammering for a moment while his voice tried to work. “Yeah, what he said. Clem’s insistent that we learn to use a gun if we ever need it, but… bats and bars get the job done just fine.”

Aasim nodded a that, adjusting the quiver strapped to his back. “That, and guns are just loud.” They crossed into a wider trail, and Ben and OJ joined Aasim’s side while Louis got on the other. He looked around, and spoke again. “The hunting grounds are usually free of walkers. Some of them get caught in the traps and shit, though. If you see a ribbon on a tree, traps are nearby, so watch your step.” He motioned to a tree they passed with a dirty red band around it, and under it lay a rope trap laden with stones.

“Careful around the traps,” Ben said, looking at OJ. “We wouldn’t want you getting caught in one of ‘em.”

“Yeah,” Louis said, “We’re not gonna eat you, like that farm you guys talked about last night.”

Ben rolled his eyes with a scoff, dragging his bat along the ground. “I would certainly hope not.”

OJ giggled a little. “I know you wouldn’t eat me. That would be gross!”

“Rabbits are a much better option,” Aasim agreed. His smirk was gone, though, as he looked around and noticed the traps empty. “Haul’s not looking so great,” he said with a sigh.

Ben felt his heart twist a little. “How long has this food shortage been a problem?”

“Few months,” Aasim replied, “Maybe a little over a year.” He scratched his hair, and added, “Yeah, definitely more than a year. We were having food problems when Sophie and Minnie were around.”

“Sophie and Minnie?” Ben questioned, adjusting his hat. When he caught sight of Louis’s smile fading, he knew it was a tough subject. “I take it they’re… gone, now.”

“They got snatched by walkers about a year ago,” Louis said, dropping Chairles to his side and letting it drag into the dirt as they walked. “You know Tenn? They were his sisters. Twins.”

“Oh.” Ben frowned. “I’m… so sorry. ‘S gotta be rough on him-- on all of you.”  _ Especially when Tenn is so young... _

Aasim opened his mouth to reply, but a distant, low snarl caught his attention first. Instead of speaking, he raised his fingers to his lips, drawing an arrow out from his quiver. He lead the other three through the trail and out into a clearing, where the snarling grew louder. It was definitely the noise of a walker, Ben could recognize that stench from a mile away.

Louis, as always, broke the tension when they spotted the undead figure hanging upside-down in one of their traps. “Well, who’s this unlucky fella?” He reached Chairles forward and prodded the walker’s side, causing it to reach its arms out and hiss, trying to grab ahold of Louis to no avail.

Aasim groaned. “Of course, you get sidetracked.” He looked at Ben. “You wanna help me with hunting? Louis obviously isn’t going to.”

“Hey, I have very important matters at hand!” Louis insisted.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Batting practice.” Louis turned and smirked at him, raising Chairles over his shoulders and striking the walker in the head, sending it swinging like a pinata. 

Aasim scoffed, but OJ bounced on his toes, hands clasped together. “You swing that really good!” he said. “Like a real baseball bat!”

Ben shifted his bat onto his shoulders, raising his eyebrows. “That’s probably the closest thing he’s had to a baseball bat,” he said.

Louis looked at him, a glint in his eye. “Hey, I’ll have you know Ericson had a  _ very  _ prestigious baseball team.”

“It was softball,” Aasim corrected, “and our team played like shit. C’mon, Louis. Kill the damn walker and take it down.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it handled.” Ben could have sworn he caught an eye roll, but he wasn’t sure. He looked down at OJ, who stepped away from Louis and went to his side.

“Can we go hunting?” OJ asked, “I was really good at it yesterday!”

Ben nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Louis, are you really gonna be swinging at that walker the whole time?”

“Yes,” Aasim answered for him. “It shouldn’t be too big an issue if he keeps it down.”

Louis looked at the three and sighed with a fake pout. “Oh, boo. You guys are no fun! I bet  _ Clementine  _ would wanna bat with me.” He shot a grin to Aasim, hoping to cheer up his dark eyes and tight frown.

“Well, maybe you should have invited  _ her _ , then,” Aasim snapped, and abruptly turned, leading Ben and OJ deeper into the woods. “What a fucking prick,” he muttered.

Ben’s eyebrows turned up, and he felt OJ grasp his hand uncomfortably. “Uh, Aasim? You okay?”

Aasim sighed agitatedly, stopping his trail when they were far enough away from Louis for his activities to be distant and quiet. “Louis is just… ugh!” He clenched his fists around his bow. “All he does is fuck around, do nothing, and expect to eat every night! And Marlon lets it happen, because he's his fucking lapdog!” He started pacing as he continued to rant. “It’s been like this since the beginning, too-- It’s not like it’s anything new. He just can’t learn when to shut the hell up and take things seriously!”

_ Woah.  _ Ben stepped back from Aasim at his outburst, bat at his side, which OJ gently took from his grasp. “Uh… wow, okay.”

Aasim must have realized how strong he came on, because his angry tone went soft almost immediately. “It’s…” he tried, “It’s not that I  _ hate _ him. I don’t think we can afford to hate each other in circumstances like this. He just needs to learn that we’re not in second grade anymore. Like…! Does someone else have to die for him to realize we have a fucking problem here?”

“You seem… really wound up about this,” Ben said, swallowing hard. “I mean, have you ever talked to him about it?”

Aasim hesitated, biting his inside of his cheek. “Whatever,” he finally muttered darkly, passing his bow to Ben. “There’s no time to talk. We have rabbits to hunt. Are you a good shot?”

“I am!” OJ said, reaching for the bow. “Can I shoot one?”

Aasim’s moodiness gave way to a tiny smile. “I know you are, kid. But is Ben?”

“Well…” Ben twirled the bow in his hands. “It’s been a while since I used one. I think OJ might be a better shot than me.”

Aasim huffed, finally letting a laugh escape. “Hey, just give it a try.” His attention pointed to a bush, which started to rustle. “Okay,” he said in a whisper. “Be really quiet.” He slipped an arrow out of his quiver and handed it to Ben, who notched it easily. “I’m gonna shake the bush and get the rabbit to jump out, and you shoot it, okay?”

“Alright.” Ben nodded, tugging a little at the bow’s string. “I got it, go ahead.” He looked to his side to watch OJ looking on with bated breath, as if this was a recreational sport. He turned his attention back to Aasim as he crouched behind the rustling bush. Then, he shuffled and shook the low branches, prompting a fuzzy brown rabbit to leap out. 

Ben quickly drew back his arm, holding his breath as he loosed an arrow. It hit the rabbit right in the middle of it’s upturned ear, but it wasn’t enough to trap it for long. The rabbit squealed and started to run, but Aasim was quick in leaping on top of it. With a final squeal from the rabbit and a little  _ snap _ , the rabbit hung limp in his hands. “ _ Whoof,  _ that was lucky,” he said, coming up to ben and pulling the arrow hanging from the rabbit’s ear out and setting it back in his quiver.

“Sorry it wasn’t a better shot,” Ben immediately apologized, scratching the back of his neck. “L-Like I said, I’m... better with crowbars.”

“At least you didn’t completely miss it.” Aasim patted his shoulder. “I think the notch to the ear froze it up for a bit.”

“Can I try?” OJ asked, setting Ben’s bat on the ground. “I’m a good shot, I swear!”

“Alright,” Aasim said, handing him the bow and an arrow. “I’m trusting you, kid. You were great yesterday.” He went back to the bushes, hearing another rustle. He positioned himself, and Ben was surprised that he had this down. The wind blew his scent away from the rabbit, and he had a feeling that Aasim knew that. Aasim lunged down into the bush, and the rabbit leaped out faster than the last one.

To Ben’s shock, OJ made a perfect shot at the rabbit, hitting it right in the head. It was dead on impact. “Damn!” Ben stressed the word into two syllables as he looked at the giddy child. “Where’d you learn to be such a crackshot?”

“Aasim taught me yesterday!” OJ explained, “He showed me how to shoot at the rabbits, and keep my hands still.”

“He’s got natural talent, too,” Aasim said, handing Ben the rabbit and jerking the bloody arrow out of it’s head. “It’s like he was born for archery.”

Ben shifted the rabbits in his arms, settling one over his shoulder. “Yeah, way to go!” he praised.

OJ giggled and bit his tongue, hugging his arms around himself as Aasim took his bow back. “Thank you.”

“Okay,” Aasim said, “I think I saw another one in those bushes, I’m gonna try to--” The bushes rustled, cutting him off. He instinctively notched an arrow into his bow faster than Ben could realize what he was doing, and drew back his arm. “I got this one,” he murmured. “Just wait. And be quiet.”

Ben stepped back, trying to pull his bad leg up so it didn’t scrape against the leafy ground. OJ held onto Ben’s bat as he stepped back, but his wide eyes were on Aasim.

Ben saw the rabbit poke it’s head out, but he only saw it for a second before Aasim let the arrow fly. It almost missed, but the shot to the head made for another meal. “Yes!” Aasim yelled through grit teeth, pumping his fist at his side. “I didn’t think that shot would have made it, holy shit!”

“Wow!” OJ jumped in place, clapping his hands together. “That was so cool! I didn’t even see it, and you shot it!”

Aasim chuckled, and they all walked together to claim the game. “Aw, it was nothing. You two got some good shots, too.”

“Oh, please.” Ben smirked with a roll of his eyes. “I was beginner’s luck. You and OJ were the real good shots.”

“Well, we got dinner, didn’t we?” Aasim’s smile faded, though, when Louis approached them. “If you’re here to help, you’re too late,” he said, annoyance dripping from his tone.

“No,” Louis said, looking down as he swung Chairles over his shoulder. “It’s not that. I actually reset that trap, but… You guys might wanna look at this.” He jerked his head in a  _ follow me  _ motion. “I went to check the traps out on the other trail, closer to the fishing shack-- they were all torn up and sabotaged again.”

“What?” Aasim walked in even stride with Louis, attention got. Ben and OJ followed closely behind. Ben took his bat from OJ with his free hand, swallowing. “What do you mean torn up?”

“I mean torn up!” Louis looked to Aasim. “Any traps that don’t have walkers in them are cut up. Just like yesterday. Didn’t we fix them before we left?”

“Yes, we did,” Aasim said, hand on his chin. “At least, I think-- no, yeah, we did. ‘Cuz Brody made a big deal out of it, yeah.”

“Oh, no,” OJ mumbled. “Can you fix them again?”

“They can be fixed alright,” Louis said, turning and walking backwards for a few paces. “The problem is that those traps might have had rabbits in them, and we might have lost food.”

“Do y’all know of anyone that would  _ want  _ to mess up the traps?” Ben asked. “Bandits, anyone? If it happened yesterday  _ and  _ today…” he didn't want to think about the possibility of bandits. He had just started to feel safe.

“We’ve never even been outside our territory, much less seen anyone else out there,” Aasim said, fiddling with a stray string on his bow. “I highly doubt it's bandits. We'd know of there were bandits around.”

“It seems like a coordinated thing is all,” Ben said dismissively, shrugging. As they stepped into the clearing, close to a messed up trap, he nodded. “Unless there’s foxes out there that  _ really  _ hate your ropes.”

Louis was about to reply, but then heard a cry.

“Louis? Aasim!”

“Ben! OJ!”

“That's Clem!” Ben recognized, starting in the direction of the voices.

“And Brody,” Aasim said. “C'mon, maybe they found something.” He quickly jerked his head and started jogging, eager to meet up with familiar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what! You'll never guess! Noxia has a discord server! We hope youll join us uwu
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	9. The Courtyard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben decides to head back to the school and help out with dinner preparations while Clementine and AJ figure out who's messing with their rabbit traps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter you had Aasim contents prepared for that good good OMAR content. Why did I capitalize his name? Because lowercase camt even compare to his divine omnipotence.

Louis, Aasim, Ben and OJ quickly met up with Violet, Brody, Clementine and AJ holding buckets of fish. Both groups looked equally as concerned about the sabotage, and Ben had to look away from a walker impaled on a tree through the mouth. The soft sunlight filtering through the leaves and ool, calm breeze seemed out of place in a crime scene like this.

“This wasn’t us,” Aasim quickly said, looking around the clearing. “We take the walkers down.”

“Unless Mitch was having a bad day,” Violet tried, shifting the bucket in her hand to the other and unstrapping a cleaver from her belt. “...No, even he knows not to fuck around like this. And Willy doesn’t go hunting very often-- definitely didn’t leave the walls yesterday.”

“Plus, I found this.” Clementine dug in her front pocket and produced a small item, and as Ben got closer he knew it was a cigarette. A very amaturely-rolled one, but one nonetheless. “It’s rolled in a bible page. Violet told me none of the kids smoke, though.”

“Hm,” Ben mumbled, scratching his jawline. He turned to Aasim with a worried eye. “I know you said you haven’t seen anyone out here, but… there just might be.”

“No,” Brody said, shaking her head. “There’s no one else out here. We’d know it.” A waver tinged her voice, and she coughed upon sucking in too much breath.

“How do you explain this, then?” Clementine asked, holding up the cigarette with two fingers. She wasn’t accusing, more inquiring. 

“Maybe the wind caught it and blew it there, I don’t fuckin’ know!” Brody exclaimed. She crossed her arms tightly around herself after pushing her hair out of her face. “Maybe it got dropped by a walker.”

Aasim sighed, strapping his bow to his back. “Well, I’ll let you guys figure this out. We better get this back to Omar so he can start cooking.”

Ben looked up at the hazy early afternoon sun, not realizing just how long he had spent out here. “Yeah,” he said. “Mind if I come with you? I’d kinda like to get to know how to do more than just hunt.”

“Sure.” Aasim nodded and took the buckets from Violet and AJ. “Not much luck at the creek?”

Clementine scratched the back of her head with a shrug. “Spearfishing is a lot harder than I thought. I’ll get the hang of it, though.”

“I got one!” AJ said proudly, not minding Violet and Brody locked in conversation, and Clementine and Louis worriedly trying to edge their way into it. “I got it right in the middle!”

“I got a rabbit, too!” OJ said, holding the furry brown animal out to him in his hands. “See? Right in the head!”

“You two have been a lot of help,” Aasim said with a nod. “We should get back, though. Let them figure things out about our traps.”

“I’ll stay with Clem,” AJ said, inching back towards the older kids, when--

“Just shut the fuck up!” Brody yelled, violently backpedaling from Clementine when she came closer. She held her fists close to her chest, breathing heavily. She looked around at everyone staring at her, then just groaned angrily and stormed off towards the school, shoving hard past Ben.

Ben staggered back, his leg almost giving out before OJ helped him regain balance. “Woah,” he said softly, holding his free hand to  his chest. “What was that about?”

Violet stared after the girl sadly, a sigh escaping past her lips. “Brody panics easily. She must have been really worried with the possibility that there’s someone out there.”

“Maybe a walker really did drop it,” Louis reasoned. “Things are dropping off from them all the time.” 

Aasim lightly grabbed Ben’s elbow. “Hey,” he said,”let’s head back before these rabbits go bad.”

Ben nodded, and turned to Clementine. “Y’all head back soon, alright? Stay safe.”

“We might do another check around the grounds,” Violet said, “We’ll stay in the safe zone, don’t worry.”

Aasim nodded.”Alright. Try and fix the traps if you can.” He turned, and Ben and OJ followed him back to the school.

Once they were back through the gates, Ben found Brody talking with Marlon on the steps to the admin building, with Rosie laying down in front of them. Aasim lead them to Omar, where they set everything they caught on the table next to his cauldron.

“More than I expected,” Omar said, raising an eyebrow at the three rabbits. “Where’s Violet and Louis?”

Ben sighed. “They're with Clem and AJ, fixing some of the rabbit traps. They were all cut up and torn apart, with walkers just strung up in ‘em.”

Omar paused, his hand over the hide of one of the rabbits. “Is that what tipped Brody off? She came in here yelling for Marlon not too long ago.”

“Yeah,” OJ said, “She was really mad. And scared, I think.”

Omar hummed. “Yeah, she can get like that.” He took up a knife from the table, tapping it on the wooden surface. “Hey, if you don’t mind…” He looked up to Ben. “Think you can help me out? Skinning a rabbit is pretty hard with just two hands.”

Ben nodded, smiling a little before fixing his hat. “Yeah, sure.” 

“Can I help?” OJ asked, hands clasped together as he bounced on his toes. “I can help!”

Omar leaned back and looked down at him. “I think you better sit this one out, OJ. It’s gonna get really messy.”

OJ looked down. “Oh… I don’t wanna get messy.”

Ben looked around the courtyard and spotted Tenn sitting at a picnic table with two other kids Ben couldn’t remember the name of. “Hey, why don’t you go hang out with Tenn and them?”

OJ brightened at the mention of Tenn, and turned around. “Oh, okay! I’ll see you later, Benny!”

“Just stay within eyeshot,” Ben called after him, before turning back to Omar who was twirling the knife in his hands. “Okay, so, what do you want me to do?”

Omar seemed to snap back into it when Ben’s attention was on him again, and he grabbed one of the rabbits by the neck. “Okay, so… uh, I just need you to hold this part down…”

With a little effort and some hesitant directions given from Omar, all three rabbits were skinned and sectioned, and put into the cauldron, where Omar started to add water. “Man,” he huffed, “If only we had some carrots. Potatoes, too-- and some salt, ooh! This stew could be a whole lot better.”

“It was really good last night,” Ben insisted, entertained by the smirk on the young boy’s face. “Honestly the best meal I’ve had in a while.”

“Just because it’s good doesn’t mean it can’t be improved,” Omar said, slowly adding a half-bucket of water and stirring with his ladle. “I used to help the lunch ladies with cooking everything, when the school was still running? They showed me the ins and outs, what to do and what not to do in the kitchen, all that stuff.” He added another handful of rabbit into the stew, chuckling. “Kinda hard to believe that started as a punishment.”

“Punishment?” Ben echoed, tilting his head. He wasn’t meaning to push, but it would be nice to get to know the kids a bit more.

Omar nodded. “The school’s Headmaster was big on punishment and discipline. I think it was one day, I didn’t do my homework or whatever-- he put me on lunch duty. Jokes on him, I actually  _ liked  _ cooking!”

Ben laughed with him, helping him by adding water when he motioned to the cauldron. “I take it you didn’t like the Headmaster?”

“Nobody did,” Omar said, “He was just… the worst.” He slipped the last section of rabbit into the cauldron, checking the flame underneath to make sure it was still burning. “Anyway… I think that’s about as good as I can get it, at least unless Violet and Louis come back with more.”

Ben swallowed, looking up at the afternoon sun. “How long should they be out?”

“They’ll be back before sunset,” Omar promised. “Violet and Louis always are, and I doubt they’d leave AJ and Clementine just hanging out there.”

Ben nodded, looking back down on the table. “Is, uh, is there anything else I can help with?”

Omar looked around his workstation, and shrugged. “Nah, I got it from here. Thanks for your help though.” He gave Ben a nice smile. “It’s a nice change of pace to have an adult that’s actually nice to us.”

Ben smiled back, scratching his arms through his jacket sleeves. “For the record, I’m only twenty-two.”

“Still an adult,” Omar said, turning back to his cauldron. “Catch you later.”

Ben took that as his cue to leave, and saw OJ still sitting with Tenn and the other kids, chatting happily. When Ben came up, the older of the two brunettes strained his smile. “Oh, look,” he said sarcastically, “Are you gonna tell us that recess is over?”

OJ giggled. “No, Ben isn’t mean like that!” he said. “He’d probably join us at recess.”

the younger brunette snickered. “You'd be a  _ bad  _ teacher,” he said, looking Ben up and down.

Ben chuckled. “Good thing I'm not a teacher, then.” He sat next to OJ, folding his arms in front of him on the table. He looked to OJ, who had one of Tenn’s spare pencils and was scribbling on a sheet of paper. “What’cha drawing?”

“Me!” OJ replied, making some strokes with the pencil and then sitting back. “I can’t draw my hair good. Tenn did a good job, though.”

Tenn looked up with a small smile. “You’re doing good too, OJ,” he said. “It’s hard to draw yourself, because you really can’t see yourself.”

“Uh, you know you can just use a mirror,” the younger brunette said, and Ben remembered that his name was Willy. 

“Or take a picture,” the older one said, disinterestedly leaning on his palm.  _ Mitch,  _  Ben suddenly remembered.  _ That one’s Mitch.  _

Tenn shrugged. “We don’t have any cameras that work. And all our mirrors are dirty.”

“I can draw myself just fine!” OJ insisted, and he made a few more scribbles before showing it to Ben. “See?”

“Wow, OJ!” Ben smiled. It was very crudely drawn-- as much as he’d expect from a six-year-old-- but it depicted OJ and Ben standing side by side, holding what Ben could assume to be their baseball bat and metal pipe respectively. “This is very good!”

“Tenn’s been teaching me a lot about drawing,” OJ said, “He’s really,  _ really _ good!” He turned to the older boy, excited. “Tenn, show Ben some of your art!” Willy and Mitch stood up from the table, silently walking off to another destination.

Tenn hesitated, but chuckled at OJ’s enthusiasm. “Okay, uh…” He flipped through a couple pages before settling on one to show, and he flipped his sketchbook around to reveal a drawing of what appeared to be himself and two taller figures standing next to a tree with a tire swing in it. “I drew this one yesterday. It’s me, and my sisters-- Minnie and Sophie.”

Ben’s heart felt a pang. “Oh, wow. Aasim and Louis told me what happened to them… I’m sorry.” He admired the drawing. It was still amature, but it was clear that Tenn had been drawing for a while.

“It’s not really so bad,” Tenn promised. “They’re somewhere better now. And, they’re okay up there. They’re happy, too. No more walkers to worry about.”

Ben knew OJ was staring at him, but he couldn’t get his mouth to work. He just stared at OJ’s drawing in his hands. “No more walkers?” OJ finally asked when he knew Ben wasn’t going to talk.

“Yeah,” Tenn said. “Minnie always told me that there was something after we die. There’s a place we all go to, and that’s where they are right now. There’s no walkers, or anything. She said it was peaceful up there.”

“Wow,” Ben finally breathed. “That’s… huh. Never really thought about it that way.” 

“How does Minnie know what it’s like?” OJ asked. “Was she there before?”

“Well-- no,” Tenn said, and flipped his sketchbook back to him, turning to the page he was drawing on. “It’s just what she thought it was like. Sophie didn’t like it when she talked about it, for some reason.” He shrugged and started drawing again. “That’s where I think they are now. So, I always draw them there.”

“That’s really sweet,” Ben said. “Your art is really nice, Tenn.”

“Thanks,” Tenn said with a smile. “You’re really nice, too. Everyone else was worried you’d be mean like the teachers were.”

“Because I’m an adult,” Ben said, knowing what he meant. “I’m--” he stopped himself, deciding that repeating himself wouldn’t do any good. “I was a kid when this all started,” he tried again, “I never really got a chance to grow up past high school.” He gestured to his dirty letterman, running his fingers over the old stitching of his school logo, where it was starting to peel off-- much like the letter on Clementine’s hat, now that he thought about it. “Honestly, I still feel like a high schooler sometimes. It just kind of escapes me that there’s walkers going around.”

Tenn hummed. “Yeah, sometimes they just feel… there. You know? Like they’re not about to start eating us if we get too close.”

“They’re still dangerous,” OJ said. “We don’t want to get grabbed by one, or cornered.”

“That’s right,” Ben said with a nod. He looked to Tenn. “Have… have you ever had to kill a walker?”

Tenn nodded. “Yeah. I went fishing with Mitch and Brody once, and a walker jumped out. It was okay, though. It didn’t even have any legs, so I just stabbed it. They’re not so bad to take care of.”

Ben sat back with another nod to show he was listening. “As long as you’re careful.” He looked up to the sun, which was starting to show it’s setting colors. “They’ve been out for a while…”

“They’re okay,” Tenn said. “The safe zone is-- well… it’s safe. That’s why Marlon put it in place. They’re probably just chilling out there-- maybe they’re getting more food.”

“Maybe…” Ben subconsciously reached out and wrapped an arm around OJ, nervously glancing at the gates of the school. He needed some conversation to be a distraction, but nothing came to mind. 

Marlon came to the table to break the tense silence, Rosie trotting at his side. “Hey, Ben,” he greeted. “Word says you and OJ were pretty helpful out there.”

Ben smiled at him, and stood. “Well, I’ll definitely need more training with a bow if you’re gonna have me hunting out there some more.”

Marlon’s smile broke into a grin. “Hah, yeah… Aasim said you barely hit it. Anyway, would you mind taking the next lookout shift? You just gotta keep an eye out for walkers, make sure they don't attract more.”

Ben nodded. “Yeah, I can handle that.” He ran his hands over his arms, “Uh, how long is the shift?”

“It's usually ‘bout an hour and a half each,” Marlon explained, “but I can guarantee that nobody will mind if you take their shift.”

Tenn giggled at that. “I can take the shift after Ben, if you want,” he offered.

Marlon regarded the boy with a nod. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He gave Ben a pat on the shoulder as they started to part ways. “Hey, maybe you can also keep an eye out for our people. They should be back soon enough.”

Ben nodded. “Yeah, I have faith that Clem won't be wasting time out there. If she's gone for this long, she's got a reason.”

“Let's hope that reason isn't anything too dangerous.” Marlon's face fell for a moment before he gave Ben a parting wave. “I'll see you at dinner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the time for the obligatory end of chapter server plug! We hope you join us in the Noxia Server, where we can talk about any and everything Noxia!
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	10. The Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben is worried when Clementine and AJ don't come back by sundown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm running out of chapter titles to start with "The" sp forgive me if I break the formula next chapter

Lookout wasn't so bad. Ben had a bow in his hands, his bat at his side, and a large forest to stare out into. He could focus on the birds singing around him, and really take in the fresh air. His eyes were active, though, staring out into the forest with the hopes of seeing familiar faces.

OJ was beside him, sitting on the floor of the lookout post and looking through the bars while picking at stray strings from his jacket. He was a keen eye through the woods, which was needed as Ben's mind was distracted. 

Ben couldn't help but be distracted. Clementine and AJ were  _ gone _ . For a long period of time. Call him clingy, but he didn't like them being separated often. He could stand being away from them for chores, that was fine. However, the afternoon sun was starting to cool as sunset started to come. They've been gone all day, they  _ must  _ be tired.

_ Marlon said they could be out there all day,  _ Ben tried to rationalize with himself.  _ Plus, it's not like Clem is a helpless child. She can take care of herself and AJ. Hell, she's taken care of you more times than you can count! _

“How much food do you think they're gonna bring back?” OJ suddenly asked, reaching up and grabbing Ben's hand. “I think they're gonna bring a lot.”

“Maybe,” Ben said with a smile, squeezing his hand reassuringly. “Louis and Violet know their way around the grounds, so they probably know all the best places for hunting.”

“Clem also has the map,” OJ said, “so they're not gonna get lost.” He shifted in his position, taking his hand away from Ben's and putting them in his lap. “Do you see them out there?”

Ben squinted out among the forest, hoping to catch some glimpse of movement, but all he saw was an obvious walker standing next to a faraway tree. He sighed disappointedly. “Nope. Not that I can see.”

OJ hummed nervously, picking a string off his jacket and threading it between his fingers. “The sun's almost gone.”

Ben nodded. “I know, bud. They'll be back, trust me.”

OJ gave him a look, but turned back up at the sky, deciding his answer was good. “Okay. Do you know when?”

“Can't say I do, buddy. But, you know Clem and AJ. Always full of surprises.” Ben watched as OJ squinted his eyes at the blue sky, slowly turning to an pale yellow. The way his head tilted made him ask, “You thinking about something?” OJ nodded. “What is it?”

“Where does the sun go when it turns to night time?” OJ asked, turning his confused gaze to Ben. “And, where does the moon come from when the sun leaves?”

The question threw Ben for a loop. Stuff like that was basic knowledge, but then again… he never had a chance to go to school. “Well,” he tried, “The Earth is a globe.”

“Globe?” OJ interrupted. 

“Like a ball,” Ben tried again. “Imagine the Earth as a ball.” He looked around, and spotted a rock on the ground of the lookout post. He bent over and picked it up, turning it over in his hands with a quick look over the lookout tower to make sure nothing got past him. “Or, like this rock. See?”

OJ looked at the rock, hugging one knee to his chest. “Okay…”

“The sun--” he indicated with his finger-- “goes around the Earth like this. So, if we're right here--” He took OJ's hand and put it on top of the rock. “We see the sun going around like this.”

“Oh,” OJ said, mouth slightly open in awe. “And the moon does the same thing, right?"

“Yep.” Ben nodded. “So, when it's night time…” he moved his finger to the bottom of the rock. “It's actually morning time for the other half of the Earth.”

“Oh, huh!” OJ took the rock in his hands, ecstatic to learn something new. “So… right now, the sun would be rising on the other side of the world?”

“Yup,” Ben said, turning his gaze back to the outside of the walls. “So, that's where the sun and moon go.”

OJ hummed to indicate he understood. He fell silent, turning the rock over in his hands.

Ben didn't break the silence, deciding to keep his attention outside of the walls. He leaned over on the post, crossing his arms over the railing and slumping his head in them as he kept watch. The longer he saw nothing, the more the peace bothered him. He swallowed a lump in his throat and tried to not pay attention to the walkers hanging nearby. As long as they didn't attract more, it should be fine. Too many in one place, however… that would be a recipe for disaster. He surely didn't want to be caught in a walker hoard again.

OJ seemed to notice the walkers too. He peered through the bars of the lookout post and watched one stumble to a stop under a tree. He clutched the rock tightly in his hands.

Ben leaned back to look at him, noticing the trouble clouding his face. “Hey, Juice Box,” he said, “what's wrong?”

OJ opened his mouth to speak, but his attention was caught on the walker, standing still except for the gentle swaying of its arms.

“OJ?” Ben tried again. “You okay, bud?”

“Are there monsters on the other side of the world?” OJ asked, finally ripping his gaze away from the outside to look his guardian in the eyes. “Where the sun is right now?”

Ben felt his stomach squirm. He flickered his eyes away from OJ to stare at the walkers outside the walls. He heard the snarls of one close by the wall, and as he stood up he saw it. Quickly, he notched an arrow into the bow Aasim lent him and shot it dead. Marlon said they gather the arrows during their hunting patrols, so he didn't have to worry about fetching it.

“Ben?” OJ asked, tugging on the hem of his letterman. “You didn't answer my question.”

“It's… a good question,” Ben finally said. “I really don't know, OJ.” He sat back down in his seat with his gaze pointed outward.

“What if there isn't?” OJ wondered. “What if it's safe over there? Do you think we could go there?”

“No,” Ben said immediately. He didn't want to hurt his feelings, but… “For a trip that big, we'd need a boat. And  _ lots  _ of food. And a lot of other stuff we just can't get our hands on now.”

OJ looked down, at the rock in his hand. “W'll… maybe we can get that someday. A boat. And lots of food for the trip. And we can go to the other side of the world, and they can help everyone over here with the monsters.”

“Maybe,” Ben said entertaining the thought. “That would be nice.”

“We could even bring our friends here on the trip!” OJ proposed excitedly. “Aasim, and Omar, and Louis, Marlon… Brody, Violet… um…”

“Mitch and Willy?” 

“And Tenn!” OJ finished with a wide grin. “We could all go on a big boat trip!”

Ben chuckled finally, rolling his shoulder as a memory came to mind. “That sounds nice. Kenny always wanted a boat.”

OJ's mouth was open in an  _ O _ . “Really?”

“Yup. He was a fisherman before the walkers, and he always had this big plan of getting a boat and living on the sea ‘till the walkers were gone.” A bittersweet smile crossed his lips. “Hell, I even wanted in on that. From how he told it to us… it sounded much better.”

OJ's small smile was gone. “I barely remember Kenny.” He shifted his gaze to the floor of the lookout. “But… I kind of miss him. From what I remember, anyway.”

Ben felt a pang. Before he knew it, his eyes burned. Quickly, he scrubbed with his sleeve at his face and took in a breath. “Yeah,” he finally managed. “I-I miss him too.”  _ So fucking much.  _ “He was the best. But… he made the right call for us when he sent us to Wellington. It's thanks to him that you and AJ were able to really grow up healthy.”

OJ hummed with a nod, and shifted the rock in his hand around his fingers. “What if the people on the other side of the world don't know about the monsters? Since they're so far away.”

Ben snuffed. “I'm sure they know. This side of the world was pretty loud before walkers. And, since we don’t exactly have a lot of communication…” he wiped his eyes from tears and turned back outside the post.

“Well, why won’t they help us?” OJ frowned. “We need their help, right?”

“Right,” Ben forced out, keeping his gaze outside the lookout post at the woods. “I dunno, OJ. It is a long way from there to here. Maybe they can't make the trip.” A beat of silence, then he added, “Maybe there's walkers over there, too.” He saw and heard another walker stumbling right for the school. He didn't hesitate in shooting it. “Honestly wouldn't put it past them just not helping us, though. People suck like that.”

OJ still seemed troubled at the answers Ben gave him, but he didn't press him with another question. Instead, he looked out at the walker he saw before, which was still standing still under the tree swaying its arms. Tentatively, he put his hand up to the bars of the post and wrapped his hand around one.

He could have sworn the walker was staring at him; for some reason, that thought didn't bother him. He looked back down at the rock in his hand, then snuffed and threw it far into the woods, past the walker. It suddenly turned and started walking off towards the noise.

Ben watched the rock fly into the woods, and kept his stare where it landed. He saw a couple walkers stumbling by in the dwindling sun, starting to get miffed when he didn't see any living people in the woods.  _ Clem better not be getting herself and AJ into trouble out there,  _ he found himself thinking.  _ Then again, hunting takes a lot of patience. They're fine. Probably. Hopefully. _

As the sun's rays dipped lower, and the the glimmering moon hung low and yellow in the sky, Ben's anxiousness grew and grew. Over the course of his shift, he caught the smell of things being cooked and saw Omar starting to prepare dinner. OJ grew restless halfway through and decided that hanging out with Tenn was the way to go until his lookout shift came. 

Soon enough, he was left in darkness that was only faintly illuminated by the roaring bonfire Omar cooked over. He heard footsteps coming up the ladder, and turned to see Tenn with a bowl of stew in one hand.

“Hey,” he said, “it's dinner time. And… my turn on lookout.”

“Aw, is it?” Ben looked up at the black sky, hearing a crackle from the bonfire. He smiled at Tenn as the boy made his way up the lookout post. “Alright, lemme get outta your way.”

His nerves were unmaskable, though, as he stood up and grabbed his baseball bat. They maneuvered around each other for Tenn to sit, but Tenn stopped him before he could descend the ladder. 

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, frowning as he set his dinner bowl on the edge of the lookout post.

“Yeah,” Ben said on autopilot. “I-I'm alright. Just… hungry.” He looked out into the dark woods, unable to ignore the hammering heart in his throat.  _ Where are they!?  _

“Well, there's just enough for everyone down there,” Tenn said softly, “I got lookout handled from here.”

Ben nodded kindly at the little boy, and forced himself to climb down from the lookout post, where he was met with Marlon. “Are they usually out this late?”

Marlon smirked at him, handing him a bowl of stew in his hand. “I get that you're worried, but my people know what they're doing. If they're not back by the time we start turning in, we can send out a search party. I doubt it'll get to that, though.”

Ben sat at the nearest table and spooned some food into his mouth. Marlon was probably right, and he was overreacting, but he couldn't help it.

“I take it you and Clementine have been through a lot,” Marlon said, tilting his head as he took the seat next to him.

Ben nodded. “Ever since the beginning, she's been with me. We don't separate often, especially with the kids.” He looked around the courtyard and quickly spotted OJ talking with Omar near the food cauldron.

“They'll be fine,” Marlon promised. “Louis is probably stalling time out there, like the idiot he is.” He took a bite of food, swallowed, and said, “He's my best friend, so I get to legally call him that.”

That managed to put a smirk on Ben's face enough to calm him down. Maybe he really was overreacting. He took a few more bites and saw Brody approaching the table. “Hey, Brody,” he greeted.

“Hi,” she said curtly, rubbing her arm through her sleeve. Her upturned eyes found Marlon, and she lightly grabbed his collar. “Um, Marlon? Can we talk for a sec?”

“Sure,” Marlon said, turning to face her. “What's up?”

Brody opened her mouth, but darted her eyes to Ben. “Um, can we talk alone?”

Marlon paused, reaching up to brush Brody's hand off his collar. He looked back to Ben with an expression Ben couldn't place, and stood up. “I'll be right back,” he promised, and Ben watched them leave towards the admin building.

Ben, furrowed his eyebrows.  _ That  _ seemed a little odd, but then again he hasn't known these kids for long. He was sure there were plenty conversations they didn't want a stranger like him overhearing. He had plenty of company when OJ scampered up to him with a smile.

“Hi. Benny!” He said, setting his half-full bowl of stew on the table in front of him. 

“Hey, Juice Box,” Ben said back, leaning over to give him a hug. “I saw you talking to Omar.”

OJ nodded. “Yeah! He was telling me about dinner tonight, and how he had to im…  impro…” he fumbled, eyebrows knit in concentration. 

“Improvise?”

“Yeah! He had to improvise a lot of dinner tonight, because there wasn't a lot of food.” He took a bite of stew. “It's still good.”

Ben nodded. “Omar  _ is  _ a really good cook. Those are hard to find these days.” He watched as Ruby sparked ber own fire, letting the flames climb. “Everyone here is… really nice.”

OJ nodded. “Yeah. I mean, Mitch is a little mean, but he hasn't hurt me. And Marlon seemed a little mad, too.”

Ben shrugged. “Can't really help that. They all have their own issues.” He looked over at Brody worriedly.  _ I would kinda like to know if those issues involve us.  _

Suddenly a loud yet short whistle alerted him to the lookout post, where Tenn was trying to get someone's attention.

Then, the front gates creaked open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you'll join us over in the Noxia discord!
> 
> https://discord.gg/HnuZEXg


	11. The Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine and AJ, along with Louis and Violet, show back up at the school with news of things outside the safe zone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update bc I love u

Ben shot up from his seat, regretting it when his bad knee gave out and sent him to the ground. “Ow! Shit…”

“Are you okay?” OJ asked, quickly coming to his aid. He grabbed Ben's arm, trying to help him up.

Ben leaned on him a little as he nodded. “Yeah, yeah… just this leg.” He stood up, looking to the gates. Instant relief clouded hin and nearly sent him back down to the ground.

“Took y'all a while,” Ruby called to the four as they entered the gates. Clementine and AJ led Violet and Louis inside the school's gates, the older of the two having a duffel bag under her arm. 

“Yeah,” Omar said, “what took so long?” he watched them quizzically as Willy and Brody trotted up to the crowd.

Louis was the first to the table, a proud smirk on his face. “How poor are they that have not  _ patience _ !” On the last word, he hefted a large duffel bag onto the table, that  _ definitely  _ looked full.

Ben rushed as quickly as he could to Clementine and AJ, wrapping Clementine in a large hug. “You scared the shit out of me!” He exclaimed. “Where were you?”

“It's nice to see you, too,” Clementine greeted back with a laugh, pulling away as AJ hugged Ben's leg. “We went out scavenging, is all.”

“Woah,” Willy breathed, pulling a jar out of the duffel bag Louis set down as Clementine set her just-as-full bag next to it. Then he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Mitch! Aasim! Check it out-- food!”

“Where did you find all this?” Brody asked, an anxious tone that Ben recognized sleeping into her voice as she turned her gaze to Clementine.

“It was all at that train station,” Louis explained, “the one that Clem and Ben blew up. Somehow, all his still survived the explosion.”

“You went back to the train station?” Ben questioned. He wracked his memory for what the map Marlon gave Clementine looked like. “That isn't…  _ is  _ that in the safe zone?”

Clementine's smile faded, and she scratched the back of her neck. “Well…”

“ _ Clem _ !” Ben's jaw dropped.  _ Marlon gave her one rule!  _

“In our defense, there weren't any other options,” Violet butted in. “And, there's was all of this in that would have otherwise gone to waste.”

“You went  _ out the safe zone _ !?” Brody nearly shouted.

“It was just a quick in-and-out,” Violet assured.

Clem took in a breath. “Well, there was this… man there.”

“Man?” Ben's heart flared with worry. He looked to Tenn, and saw AJ climbing up the lookout post to visit. “Who was it?”

“I dunno.” Clementine shrugged. “He had this scratchy voice, and these weird, different-colored eyes.”

Brody sucked in a shaky gasp. Her eyes went wide, eyebrows shot up. “What?” Her gaze shot from Violet, to Clementine, to the gates of the school, slightly ajar. Then, her mousey stare went right to Clementine. “Did he follow you?” She asked quickly.

Ben noticed the signs of panic, but let Clementine speak before he did. “No, we just let him have some food, and he left.”

“Brody, are you okay?” Ben asked, head tilted in worry.

“What the fuck!?” Brody snapped, alerting everybody in the vicinity. “How could you be so stupid? You give him some food, he's gonna come back for more!” She reached up and grabbed at her hair anxiously.

“If I hadn't done what I did he would have shot us,” Clementine defended. “I made the right call.”

“Bullshit!” Brody exclaimed. “What if there are more?” She strode closer to Clementine, and Ben quickly stepped in to halfway shield his younger friend from her view.

“Brody,” he warned, “chill out.”

Brody looked up at him with a glare, but he could see the terror shining in her eyes. “You don't know what people are capable out there!” she cried accusingly.

A flare rose in Ben's chest that surely sparked in his eyes, but as he struggled to find something to say that wouldn't end ugly, Clementine stepped from behind him, almost nose-to-nose with the girl.

“Think again,” she said in a low voice. Her eyes blazed with anger that fumed through her clenched fists and rigid stance.

“Yeah,” Ben breathed, reaching up to his neck and tracing along the edges of his New Frontier brand. “I think we have an idea of what the fuck it's like out there.” 

Brody stepped back from Clementine, breathing shakily as she stepped back to mutter to herself. “I just can't. I won't, just… not again.  _ Fuck _ !” 

Ben jumped at her exclamation, all anger melting and shooting a worried glance to Clementine, which she returned with a face that said  _ what makes you think I know? _

“What the hell is goin’ on here?” Marlon suddenly asked, being the last to approach the table, but his interest was in Brody.

Brody turned to Marlon, pointing accusingly at Clementine. “She took them  _ outside  _ the safe zone! They  _ saw  _ someone! You know what that means!”

_ “Enough!”  _ Marlon shouted. Brody flinched violently, and Ben shifted back, nearly pulling Clementine back with him. His heart was pounding; he made a mental note to not get on Marlon's bad side.

“Just means that there's a hungry guy out there looking for food!” Marlon continued, his voice softer. “it's happened before. You are overreacting.”

Brody stammered for a moment, looking defeated. “You can't be serious!”

Marlon took a step towards her, taking her by the arm. “Come on. Let's go somewhere and talk about this.”

Ben could only watch in awe as Brody jerked her arm back, then used all her force to shove Marlon away from her, causing him to fall to the ground, exclaiming as his head hit the hard dirt. As he locked eyes with Ben, he knew they shared the same shock.

Brody stormed to Clementine. “If  _ anything  _ happens,” she said in a wobbly voice, “I'm holding YOU responsible!”

Brody stalked off towards the admin building, and Ben held his hand out to help Marlon up. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Marlon grunted, accepting his help and getting to his feet. He watched Brody leave with a sad face, and once she was out of sight he turned to Clementine. “Clem, I know I asked for your help. And you did.” He pressed a hand to his eyes agitatedly. “You did. But…  _ shit _ .” He wiped his hand away from his face and looked up to the sky. “ _ God,  _ nothing's easy.”

“You had me worried sick,” Ben added, although he wasn't accusing at all. If anything, he was relieved she was alright. Still, it was alarming that the  _ one rule  _ that Marlon had put in place was so important to make Brody panic like that.

“I know I went outside the safe zone,” Clementine admitted, staring down at her boots. Ben could sense the guilt in her stance as she stuffed her hands into her back pockets, and knew she was genuine. “And, I broke the rules. I'm really sorry, it won't happen again.” She looked up at Ben with an apologetic grimace. “I didn't mean to make you guys worry.”

“I always worry,” Marlon sighed, watching as everyone took seats at tables with what Omar had to cook with. “Can't help it.” He looked to the pile of canned goods, and crossed his arms, clearing his throat to speak lighter. “Ah, well… at least we're eating tonight. And the next few, I'd wager.”

Ben's face gave way to a smile, and he slung his arm around Clementine's shoulders. “Thanks to the little goober here.”

Clementine laughed, lightly pushing Ben away halfway out of embarrassment. “Couldn't have been done without Violet and Louis's help.”

Marlon nodded, and started to walk away. “Um, I'll go talk to Brody. Thanks for the haul, Clem. You should go and enjoy it; you've earned it.”

“I'd say that's our cue to eat.” Ben looked at the tables, and spotted OJ with his own bowl sitting with Aasim, Omar, and Mitch. 

Before they parted ways, Ben lightly snagged Clementine's hood, making her turn her attention to him. “Real talk, are you okay? I mean, with what happened out there.”

Clementine nodded genuinely. “Yeah. Really, it was no biggie. We handled the guy well, and he just left when he got some food. No one was hurt, and we have no bites.” She lifted up her arms to expose her wrists in a  _ see? We're alright  _ motion.

Ben felt relief warm his heart. “Good. You're off the hook this time, but next time you put yourself and AJ in danger like that, I might have to helicopter you for the next few years.”

Clementine grinned and pushed his shoulder. “Okay, okay. I  _ promise _ it’s all in the safe zone from now on. No more funny business.”

Ben gave her shoulder an assuring pat. “Good to hear. Now go eat.” He watched as she went to the open seat at the table with Violet, Louis, Ruby and AJ.

“Looks like you guys know what you're doing after all,” Mitch said once Ben took his seat next to OJ. “I was full prepared for y'all to wind up dead by now. No offense.”

“None taken.” Ben folded his arms on the tabletop. “I mean, you didn't exactly find us in the most prime circumstances. I honestly didn't think I'd make it this far, not gonna lie.”

OJ set his spoon in his half-empty bowl. “A lot of stuff happened before you found us. I mean, a  _ lot _ .”

“There's been lots of close calls,” Ben affirmed. “We really appreciate you guys letting us stay here.”

“Well, you guys have proved to help us out,” Aasim said with a nod. “Definitely helps to have some extra hands on deck when we need it.”

“And you haven't tried to kill us,” Mitch added. “Another bonus.”

“ _ And  _ your friend got us a lot of food,” Omar finished, turning over a jar with a torn label in his hands. “Biggest bonus, if you ask me.”

“Clementine is really smart,” OJ said, “she can think her way around anything!”

“Mmm, well,” Ben cocked his head to the side. “Maybe not  _ anything,  _ but she's gotten us out of trouble more than once.”

Mitch raised his eyebrows. “Implying you've gotten into a lot of trouble?”

Ben scoffed. “Well-- duh. It’s rough out there, y'know? Shit happens.” He scratched the back of his neck, looking down at OJ as he leaned into his side. “Walkers pop up, bandits pop up… biggest thing they have in common is that they usually end up dead if they came across us.”

The table fell silent, everyone freezing in their motions.

“Bandits, as in… not walkers?” Aasim's eyebrows turned up,and Omar visibly moved an inch or two away from him.

Ben opened his mouth, realizing just how bad his statement must have sounded. “I mean… you know. We ran ‘em off. Made sure they wouldn't get us again. Especially with the kids so small…” he cleared his throat. “...You know."

OJ nodded. “Yeah. There's a lot of bad people that tried to hurt us.”

“Y'all are weird,” Mitch said, leaning back in his seat. “And-- I mean, I've known some  _ weird  _ people, dude.”

Aasim scoffed. “Hey, we dunno what it was like out there. Sometimes, you just…” he shrugged and sighed. “Gotta do what you gotta do, I guess.”

Ben nodded his thanks. “Yeah, uh…” he cleared his throat again, trying to break the awkward tension he created. “Anyway…”

“Y'know, Marlon gave Louis, Violet and Clem a free pass going outside the safe zone,” Aasim muttered deciding to change the topic. “But when  _ I  _ go out for food, he puts me on house arrest. He's got a really big bias around here.”

“Well, duh,” Omar said, “Louis went with them. You know he'd rather die than put Louis in trouble.”

Ben shifted to lean his head on his palm, wrapping his other arm around OJ's shoulders as the little boy leaned into him. “I'm sending some communication issues around here.”

Aasim raised his eyebrows. “Uh, what do you mean?”

“I think he means that you don't talk to each other a lot,” OJ piped up. “Or, like, maybe you talk wrong.”

“I mean,” Ben stated before anyone could say anything. “I'm really not trying to talk where I'm not supposed to, but have you guys, like,  _ ever  _ talked to Marlon about this stuff? He is the leader, right? Isn't he supposed to listen to you guys so he can lead things better?”

Aasim opened his mouth, but then shut it and stammered.

“We try,” Omar said, watching as Mitch wordlessly got up and left the table, ambling towards the bonfire where Willy was laying down. “He used to be so open and willing to listen to us, but…” he shrugged. “After we lost Sophie and Minnie-- you know who they are?”

“Louis and Aasim told me.” Ben's heart ached. All this talk about them, they must have meant a lot. Especially in such a close-knit group like this, it was a tough blow.

“After we lost the twins,” Aasim continued, “Marlon just shut down. He wouldn't take any suggestions, he still shuts us out, and every time we suggest something different past the safe zone, he completely flips his shit.”

“He's overreacting a little, if you ask me.” Omar gathered the empty bowls around the table, stacking them on top of each other. “I mean-- yeah, losing the twins was… horrible. But, that was a year ago. And with the system we have now, we can risk some scouting past the safe zone.” He leaned back to look past Ben at the admin building. “I just don't get him.”

Ben shifted to cross his arms. “Maybe you can ask him why he's scared about Minnie and Sophie. I mean-- was he, like, dating one of ‘em, or something?”

“No, but Violet  _ was  _ with Minnie.” Omar turned to look at the blonde sitting next to Clementine. “Speakin’ of Violet, it looks like she's making friends.”

Ben turned as well, and caught them mid-laugh, which made him smile. “Well, Clem's just easily approachable. You know, when she doesn't have a gun to your head.” Thankfully, that crack at a joke made the boys laugh. 

He then caught AJ and Tenn climbing down from the lookout post. Tenn sharply whistled like he did before, and Omar stood up. “It's my turn. Aasim, can you get dishes clean for me?” At Aasim's nod, he smiled thankfully. “Y'all have a good night.”

Ben didn't realize how late it had gotten until he saw the white moon hung in the sky. Then, almost on cue, OJ yawned. “I think it's bed time for us, too.”

Aasim took the stack of bowls into his hands and nodded. “Yeah, get some sleep. We can go out hunting in the morning, see what we can scrap together.”

“Sounds good.”

As they were headed to their room, Clementine and AJ caught up to them. “So, you like it here?” Clementine asked, habitually stuffing her hands into her pockets. 

OJ nodded before Ben could speak. “Yeah! It's so cool, and there's so many nice people here. They haven't tried to hurt us or anything!”

“And they're letting us stay,” AJ added. “And they're giving us food, and beds.” He hopped his head happily. “This is a lot better than the car.”

“By a long shot,” Ben agreed. He made it to his and OJ's door, and turned to the other pair in the hallway before she opened the door to let OJ in. “G'night, guys. Love you.”

“Love you back!” AJ said, and came forward to hug him. Ben hugged back as best he could with his height, and accepted Clementine into the hug. He wasn't surprised when he felt OJ hug his other legs either.

“Alright, sleep tight,” Clementine wished, and pulled away to open her door. “Don't let a walker bite.”

“Or the bedbugs!” OJ added as he finally scampered into the room.

“...Or the bedbugs.” Clementine gave one final smile before disappearing into her room, closing the door behind AJ.

Ben closed his door and watched OJ hop onto his bed. “I can't wait until tomorrow,” he said, “I wanna go hunting with Aasim again. He's really cool, and I like hunting.”

“Yeah?” Ben took his hat off and placed it gently on the bedside table separating the two beds across the room. “Aasim is really cool. So is Omar.”

“He's good at cooking,” OJ said matter of factly as he kicked his feet under the covers. “And he's really nice.”

“What do you think we're gonna get tomorrow?” Ben asked, deciding to indulge his childhood imagination.

“More rabbits, probably.” OJ laid his head down on the pillow. “Maybe we can get Marlon's permission to go out the safe zone. I think we can find more food there.”

“Eh…” Ben sat down on the edge of his bed. “I don't think we're getting outside the safe zone, especially after what Clem and AJ pulled tonight. Whatever's outside the safe zone seems to really scare him.” He turned his troubled gaze outside the window, watching as the bonfire was put out by Mitch and Willy. “I don't think it's just walkers.”

He started speaking aloud, not really to OJ anymore. “If just seeing a guy out there freaked Brody out… and with how dismissive Marlon was about it…” Thinking back on the co creation before dinner, he was pretty sure he caught a deceitful tone in Marlon's voice. Something about how his words rang in his mind didn't feel right. 

Maybe it was his memory playing with him. Now  _ he  _ was the one overreacting. He just sighed and kicked his shoes off before sinking under his own covers. “Alright, Ben, that's enough,” he muttered to himself. Then, louder, “Good night, OJ.”

“Good night, Benny,” OJ said, then turned to face the wall, content in sleep. It wasn't long before sleep claimed Ben as well.

It wasn't long after that before the two were jolted awake by a sudden echo.

Ben scrambled and threw his covers off, already halfway out of bed when another echo sounded through the walls. His injured leg sparked with a pain that sent him to the floor with a groan.

“Ben?” OJ had now sat up, gripping at his covers. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Ben hissed, trying to stand back up. “Just this dumb leg.” With OJ's help and support from the bed frame, habeas back to his swaying knees. “You know what that noise was?”

The noise sounded again. It was loud, maybe a little angry, and seemed to bleed through the walls. “What the heck is that?” OJ muttered. “It sounds like yelling.”

Ben sat down on his bed and bent over to grab his shoes. “Well, let's go get Clem and AJ, and figure it out.” He pulled one boot on and watched as OJ got out of bed and  scurried to Ben's bag to grab his metal pipe. “Let's hope we don't have to use that.”

“Just in case.” OJ clutched it tight as Ben pulled on his other boot, then helped him stand. “You need your bat, too. Just in case.”

Ben sighed with a shake of his head. “I'm pretty sure I won't need it.” He went to the door, leaning put of the doorway to check for any dangers before stepping outside.

The noise in the walls was only louder in the hallway. Ben now recognized it to be voices, though he wasn't sure who the voices belonged to. The two quick steps to Clementine's room next door seemed excruciatingly long.

“Clem?” Ben knocked on the door, then slowly opened it a few seconds later. “It's Ben.”

He saw the two in their beds, but Clementine seemed ready to get up and leave. “Ben,” Clementine said. “You hear that too?”

AJ looked up at the ceiling, where a part of the wall had eroded away to expose the linings and pipes underneath.

“There's voices in the pipes.”

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting to the end of episode 1 huh.... who KNOWS how things are gonna mess up.
> 
> Join us on the Noxia Discord if you wanna!
> 
> https://discord.gg/HnuZEXg


	12. The End Pt. I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben, AJ and OJ decide to stay behind while Clem investigates. A secret is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one..... is a Doozy. Welcome to the beginning of the end (of episode 1)!

Another peal of aggression dripped through the pipes, the four staring up at the ceiling. Pale moonlight lit the room up as well as any night light would, but the otherwise calm setting was stricken with unnerve as the indistinct voices continued.

“Something tells me this isn't a common occurrence,” Ben said, slowly walking deeper into Clementine's room. “Or if it is, it's not over something good.”

Clementine stood off her bed, only needing to put her hat on to be ready to leave. “I-I think I should check it out. Or, get someone else that's awake. We can't be the only ones hearing this.”

“Is it something bad?” OJ asked, looking up at Clementine. “Are we gonna have to run away?”

“No,” Clementine answered, “at least-- we shouldn't.” She sighed and stooped down to her backpack, rifling through its contents before taking out her knife. “Let's not jump to any conclusions.”

“It would be best if  _ you _ went to see what was up,” Ben agreed, “these kids trust you way more than they trust me, and I'm sure they wouldn't want an  _ adult  _ poking around in their business.”

Clementine nodded. “Yeah. It's probably nothing, though, so we shouldn't get too over our heads.” She came forward and patted his shoulder as she started to the door. “I know you're already coming up with Plan Z as we speak.”

“Well, since literally  _ anything  _ could be behind this--”

“--Ben, come on!” Clementine turned back around and took him by the shoulders, firm yet assuring. “You said it yourself, these kids trust me more than they trust you. If they see  _ you  _ snooping around, we could be in some serious trouble.”

Ben rolled his eyes, his mouth in a tight line. “Alright, alright. I'll stay here and wait, but don't take too long.” He raised his hand up and tightened his ponytail before gripping onto the bill of his hat.

“I won't,” Clementine promised, trying to look him in the eye. “Look. You don't like getting separated. I get it, but I won't be miles away this time, okay?”

Ben gave a half-nod. “Yeah, I-I get it.” A sharp scream from the pipes jumped his heart. Everyone looked up, and Ben cleared his throat. “Okay, okay. You should go check that out before something happens.”

AJ hopped off his bed. “I'm coming too.”

Clementine shook her head. “Uh-uh, AJ, I need you to stay here.”

“But what if there's monsters?” AJ defiantly started towards the door, but was stopped by Clementine as she knelt down to his height.

“No, I need you to stay here and protect Ben and OJ. I can handle myself out there.”

“And I'm already nervous enough with Clem going out there,” Ben added. “I don't need to start worrying about you too, bud.”

AJ turned to look back at OJ and Ben, worry clouding his eyes. “...Okay. I'll wait here.”

“Good.” Clementine gave him a hug, then stood up. “I'll be back in a bit.”

Ben patted AJ's back as he ambled over to his side, and all three boys watched the door close behind Clementine as she left. Ben let out a sigh and sat down on AJ's bed, watching the younger boys climb onto the bed on either side of him.

“Is Clementine gonna be okay?” OJ asked, leaning into Ben's side.

“Yeah,” Ben said as he wrapped an arm around him, hugging him close. “You know her, she'll be alright.”

“Clem's strong,” AJ added. “and brave. And tough-- she can protect herself.”

“That's right.” Ben nodded. “She's gonna be fine.”

“And I can protect you guys,” AJ said. He reached behind him and pulled his gun out from his waistband. “Only if I have to.”

Ben felt a pang shoot through his throat as he eyed the gun. “Only if absolutely necessary. Don't put your finger on the trigger unless you're aiming at something that needs to be shot.”

AJ nodded, wiggling his index finger to indicate that it was off the trigger. “I know how to use it,” he said, sounding just a little offended.

“I know you do,” Ben assured, “just making sure you remember the rules.” 

Another anxious look around the room, and a sudden knock at the door made him jump. Quicker than he could gasp, rationalization swam in and cooled his mind enough for him to utter a “come in!”

The door creaked open, and Louis poked his head through the door. “Y'all awake too?”

“Louis,” Ben breathed, standing up. He felt OJ stand next to him and hold his hand. “Hey, yeah. We, um… we heard something echoing in the pipes, it woke us up.”

Louis gingerly came into the room, leaving the door cracked open halfway enough to allow Violet behind him to step in. “I'm pretty sure whatever that is woke everybody up,” she said, “I thought I saw someone leave the room, so we were just gonna… check in.”

“Clem went to go see where the voices were coming from,” AJ explained, tucking his gun into his waistband as Louis and Violet came further into the room. “Do you know where they're coming from?”

“Hell if I know.” Louis shrugged and set his hands on his hips, taking a stand between the beds. His coat was tied around his waist and almost dragging to the floor, and as tired as he looked, Ben could tell he'd been up as long as them, listening to the anger in the walls.

“I don't think this has happened before, either,” Violet said, a tired rasp edging into her voice as she yawned. “And…” She froze as a scream lurched through the pipes, echoing and sounding very much like  _ Stop it! _ “Is that Brody?” She murmured, tilting her head to the exposed piping in the ceiling.

The angry voices were now indistinct, but Ben could catch a nervous tone in some of it that he remembered Brody had during her vicious interrogation when they came back for dinner earlier that night. “I-I think…” Ben swallowed, feeling OJ clutch his hand tightly for a moment. “But why would Brody be screaming like this in the middle of the night? And from where?”

“Well,” Louis started, “Since it's echoing all through the dorms, my guess is the basement out in the courtyard. We keep spare stuff down there. I've seen Brody go down there a couple times before, but…”

“It's probably a panic attack,” Violet said with a shrug. “Knowing her and that big freakout she had at dinner tonight.”

The five fell silent again, straining to hear the voices in the pipes, trying to make out some kind of conversation. Ben fell into a silent conversation with himself to keep himself in check, to not worry  _ too  _ much. 

_ The echoes are too much to make out what they're saying, but that's definitely Clem's voice; I'd recognize it anywhere. She sounds… angry? _

_ Now that's definitely Marlon.  _ Looking around the room, he knew Violet and Louis recognized the voices too.

“I don't like the sound of this,” Violet said slowly, hugging her arms across her chest. “Whatever this is, whatever the fuck is going on-- we need to know.” Her jaw was clenched as Ben caught her eye for a brief moment before she looked to Louis, who was staring right back at her. “He's been hiding something, and you know it. We all know it.”

“I thought he was just stressed.” OJ said with a frown. He was no doubt confused by the whole situation, if his voice was anything to go by.

“Yeah, stressed about keeping something from us,” Violet muttered, swiping her hair out of her face. She, on the other hand of the young boy, sounded confident in her mindset, knowing the situation better than he did.

“Vi, c'mon.” Louis turned to be eye-to-eye with her. “Don't you think we'd already know if Marlon was hiding something? Especially me.”

Violet scoffed. “Look, I know you two are practically joined at the hip, but--”

“Yeah, I know him,” Louis interrupted. His voice was a little strained, and Ben could catch the unease in his tone from a mile away. “He'd tell me if something was up.”

Violet shook her head and cast her gaze down to the floor. “I'm sorry, but you can't always count on him being truthful with you.”

Louis didn't have a reply to that.

Ben decided to fill the silence as the echoes in the pipes got just a little quieter. “You guys can definitely ask him some questions in the morning.” He sat back, holding his hands onto the edge of the bed between his legs, a feeling of nerve climbing through his chest as he caught OJ in his peripheral vision, fiddling with his metal pipe. “I know we haven't been here for long, and I of all people have no place talking about you guys and your issues, but…” he shrugged a little and swallowed. “I agree with Violet here. Marlon's been kinda rubbing me the wrong way.”

Violet let a flicker of shock cross her face before she smiled the tiniest bit, silently glad to have someone agree with her.

Louis, on the other hand, seemed more defeated standing by his friend's side. “I just…” he hesitated, vaguely gesturing with his hands. “What do you want me to say, Vi? That my best friend since I was a fuckin’  _ kid  _  is one big liar?”

Violet seemed taken aback by that. Her mouth opened and closed, but ultimately she stayed silent, listening to the voices when they started up again.

It was good timing that they fall quiet, too, because the voices were louder. Angrier. Ben felt both Juniors clutching onto his sleeves as he recognized Clementine's voice. This time, Ben caught the last few words.

_ “...was so ashamed of--” _

_ “--said, SHUT UP!” _

a loud crash made Ben's heart leap, forcing his body to stand and ignore the shooting pain in his leg. “What the hell was that?” He demanded to no one in particular.

“Fuck it!” Violet hissed, starting to the door. “I'm getting everyone else up. We're questioning Marlon right now.” She took a sad gaze to Louis. “Sorry, Lou, but I can't keep this ‘till morning.”

“Vi, wait.” Louis jumped up, his face stricken with fear. “Violet--” he went after her as she left the room without hesitation. “Violet, wait up!”

Ben's breath was visibly shaky, and both of the younger kids caught it. “Ben,” OJ asked, “is Clementine is trouble?”

“What happened in the pipes?” AJ added, jumping off the bed. “We need to find her!”

“AJ, no.” Ben shot his arm out, barely grazing his shoulder. “Clem told us to stay here.”

“But she could be in trouble.” AJ reached behind him and pulled out his gun. Staring at it, he continued. “She always tells me to be tough, and be brave. She's always saving us, right? Why can't we save her?”

Ben's jaw trembled as he spoke. “AJ, she- she's fine. She wouldn't want you to be running around with your gun whipped out, aiming it at everyone in here.”

AJ's face twisted into a madder glare. “Or is that just what  _ you  _ don't want me to do?”

Before Ben could even start to stammer as he stumbled back, OJ huffed. “Don't be a stupidhead, AJ. Ben's trying to keep us safe.”

“Clem could be in trouble!” AJ fired back.

Then, noises in the pipes started again.

“You don't know that!” OJ cried. 

“Kids,” Ben started, holding one hand to his head as he tried stepping closer to the pipes.

AJ acted as if he didn't hear. “What's gonna happen if she is in trouble, and-and we can't help?”

“Hey, kids--”

“Clem can handle herself! She always has before!” 

“Hey!” Ben flung his hands out, his outstretched fingers quickly closing into fists. “Please, guys, chill out!”

In their silence, he heard the noises.

The horrible, familiar choked hisses of a walker, and Clementine's desperate screaming.

_ “OJ? AJ!? BEN!!” _

“ _ Fuck _ ,” Ben snapped to himself. “Alright, kids, c'mon.” His heart was hammering in his throat as he ran forward into the hallway, any sense of self-preservation gone. Clementine was in danger. Very very big danger. He had to do  _ something, anything  _ to help. Even if he was too late,  _ god, please don't let me be too late-- _

“Ben?” Omar had now approached his side, worry edging into his voice. “Hey, you know what's going on?”

“No, but Clem needs help,” Ben answered curtly, his mind too reeled to say anything else. The heart in his throat made him choke and cough as he found himself at the top of the stairs. As he made his way down, he saw the shadows of graffiti on the walls, all the souls of the children behind the anarchical words whispering through the walls like Clementine's and the walker screams through the pipes, and he hoped to any God available that Clementine wouldn't join those souls. 

AJ was in front of him and the rest of the school had accumulated behind him like a pack of wolves as he slammed the dormitory doors open to storm out into the courtyard. He caught no sight of his sister, but he saw Marlon pacing around the courtyard, hugging his arms to his chest.

As soon as everyone came out, Rosie-- who had been napping on the stairs-- jumped up and started whimpering. The noise was barely heard over the roaring humid wind carrying with it the smell of a storm. Ben looked up, and saw the moon had been blotted out by black clouds, yet a light still shone darkly from the sky.

“Marlon!” Ben managed. The boy practically leapt at the sound of his voice, standing still as the school came towards him, like a deer in oncoming headlights. “Marlon, hey, what's going on?” As he on closer, he saw blotty, dark spots on his terrified face. “What the hell happened?”

“Ben? Fuck.” Marlon sucked in a deep breath, taking one of his hands through his hair. “Hey, uh-- I was just--”

“Where's Clementine?” OJ blurted out, “We heard her in the pipes, where did she go?”

“Um, hey--” Marlon staggered back as the school formed a half-circle around him, swallowing hard. “Hey, guys, it was-- it was nothing. Me and Clem were just, uh, just talking, okay?”

“She heard you and Brody talking through the pipes and went to check it out. What happened?” Ben asked pointedly. He found himself wishing he had brought his baseball bat; something told him this was gonna end ugly. As he looked around, he saw OJ, Aasim and Omar next to him, all equally as worried and confused. He looked around, and saw the only ones missing of the school were Violet and Tenn.

AJ growled as he stepped forward, fists clenched. “Marlon, Ben asked you a question!” He said. 

“I know!” Marlon answered, holding his hands up a little in surrender. “I-I just--”

Ben could only watch in horror as AJ snatched his gun out in a flash and aimed it right at Marlon.

The kids all gasped and stepped back, Ben keeping his arm out in front of OJ. Rosie, from where she was chained up, was now snarling. The wind picked up pace. 

“Where is Clementine?” AJ demanded.

“AJ, put the gun down!” Louis immediately exclaimed, straining to step forward, but Mitch pressed his hand to his chest to keep him back.

Marlon backpedaled, grasping at the hem of his jacket. His eyes shot to Ben, desperate. “G-Get this fucking psycho away from me!”

Ben swallowed, finding strength in himself to talk. “AJ, hey! Get that gun away from--”

“WHERE IS SHE!?”

Marlon jumped back a little bit, then aimed his arm away from the group as he continued to step away from the little boy. “She... she's in the basement,” he stammered.

Ben followed to where his finger pointed, to the open doors of a basement cellar. Tears pooled in his eyes, he wasn't sure from what, as Marlon finished his sentence.

“Sh-she  _ murdered  _ Brody!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now that shits getting real.... how about yall tell me what you think in the Noxia server!
> 
> https://discord.gg/HnuZEXg


	13. The End. Pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The interrogation begins, and certainly doesn't end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen I hated writing this as much as u hate me for writing it but it HAD TO BE DONE

A clap of thunder coincided with an overhead streak of lightning. The barks of Marlon's brutish dog rang loud and clear throughout the courtyard, and didn't let up in the slightest.

Everyone exclaimed from Marlon's previous outburst. “What the hell?” Willy cried out. “Why'd she do _that_!?”

“Dude, is that blood on your face?” Aasim asked, coming forward just a little bit to try and get a better look.

Marlon gasped a little, touching his fingers to his face and then looking in horror at his own hand. “I-I don't know--"

“What the hell happened?” Ben asked with as much strength as he could muster. His brain was split in half-- one reeling with shock and horror and the other rationalizing all the reasons why Clementine _wouldn't_ do that. “Wh-- why did Clem-- is she hurt?”

Marlon shot his gaze to him, and Ben could see his face trying to work into an angry frown. “H-How can you ask about _her_ when she's the one that just _killed_ Brody!”

“What happened?” OJ asked, stepping forward and clutching his pipe. “Why did she-- she…” His gaze shuddered to the ground with a gasped breath. “She wouldn't!”

“You say that,” Marlon hissed, “but you didn't _see_ what I just fucking saw! She fucking killed her! _In cold blood!_ ”

Ben felt a strong pull of hesitation. The tinge in Marlon's voice was all-too-familiar, and one he knew all too well.

It was the faltering tone of a liar.

“Did you see it happen?” Ruby piped up, holding her hands to her chest worriedly.

“Is she a walker now?” Willy croaked anxiously.

Before Marlon could say anything, another voice rang out.

_“Hey, Marlon!”_

Ben whipped his head to the voice, unable to feel relief over the intense storm of fear that whirled around him and inside him.

Clementine was storming up to the group of kids, fists clenched tight at her side. As lightning flashed, Ben saw what he knew was blood on her face and hands, as well as the swarming anger that overwhelmed her rigid stance.

AJ's hold on the gun lowered, and he grinned widely at the sight of his guardian. “Clem!”

“You might wanna get your story straight, if you're telling them what happened in there!” Clementine exclaimed, coming forward and pointing at him accusingly. “ _You_ killed her. You hit her _so hard,_ her head split open!”

Ben drew in a deep gasp, and his hand flew out to grab OJ and pull him behind him, out of Marlon's point of view. Another roll of thunder pealed from the sky, mixing almost perfectly with Rosie's vicious barking and snarling.

Ben couldn't think straight. He was attempting to keep himself calm, but the shrill dog barks and angry voices just spiraled him further into panic-- not to mention the very sight of AJ aiming a gun at Marlon.

“No, no!” Marlon growled stepping far back away from the rest of the kids, closer to Rosie who still wouldn't stop barking. “I saw _you_ kill her!”

 _Okay, that's an outright lie._ Just by the tone of voice, Ben knew Marlon was just trying to save face, to hang onto a lie by the tips of his fingers. “Marlon,” he tried, “hey, we can--”

“What the hell is going on!?” Violet now approached the rest of the school from the dorms with Tenn at her heels.

Marlon turned to Violet for just a second before glaring back at Clementine. “Look at her hands! She's covered in Brody's blood!”

Clementine faltered in her stance, looking down at her hands, indeed stained with blood. A crack of lightning lit up her guilt as she looked to Ben.

Aasim stepped back, away from Ben and closer to Omar. “Jesus Christ, Clem,” he murmured, swallowing hard.

“What did you do!?” Tenn exclaimed.

“Guys,” Ben tried, but his voice failed him as he stared his family down. Clementine stared at him back, wordless but obviously guilty of _something_. “Wait, Clem… did you really…?”

The girl answered by looked down at her hands, stained in blood.

AJ stared at her too, disbelieved with betrayal scrawled on his face. “Clem…?”

Before anyone could react, Marlon charged forward and shoved AJ to the ground, snatching the gun out of his fingers and raising it high above his head, a flash of lightning brightening everything up in a white glare for a few moments.

“AJ!” Ben came forward and his leg gave out. He crashed to the hard dirt and stone, but crawled the rest of the way to grab onto AJ, helping him sit up. “AJ, are you okay?”

AJ groaned in response, reaching up to hold the back of his head. “Ow,” he whined.

Louis came forward out of the kids stepping back from Marlon, kneeling down with one hand on Ben's shoulder and the other under AJ's arm. “Hey, can you stand?”

“Yeah, I-I think--”

“We saved their lives when anyone else would have just kept walking!” Marlon nearly screamed as Rosie started barking louder, yanking hard on her chain. As Ben got to his feet with Louis's help, Marlon continued.

“We fed them-- we kept them warm! And this--” he motioned to the gun in his hand-- “is how they repay us? Guns being pulled and _murder_! Well…”

He aimed the gun right at Clementine's head.

“FUCK! THEM!!”

Ben leaned into Louis's side for support until he could stand on his own, mouth agape with horror at the sight unraveling before him.

“What the fuck?” Aasim snapped, eyes wide as he came to Ben's side with his hands out.

“Marlon?” Willy came forward next, wanting to approach him, but Mitch was restraining him to be away from danger.

“Jesus Christ!” Ruby cried, her hand covering her mouth.

“Hey-- quit aiming that at her!” Ben cried, starting to come forward but his leg proved he wasn't getting far. “Marlon, stop it!”

“Don't shoot her!” AJ cried, “Please, no!”

Clementine wasn't phased. She took a brave step forward, gesturing with her hands as she spoke. “You're not going to.” In Marlon's silent answer, she barely fought back a sneer. “You kill me, what do you offer to your raider friends when _they_ come knocking!?”

Ben nearly crumpled if OJ wasn't there to help him stand. _“Raiders!?”_ He exclaimed, feeling his heart stop. _No,_ he said to himself, _no, it's not raiders. It can't be. You're done with raiders. You're DONE._

“What the hell is she talking about?” Omar demanded, coming forward as the rest of the kids mustered up the will to.

“He won't because he needs us alive,” Clementine continued while glaring at Marlon.

“Shut up,” Marlon snapped, fixing his hold on the gun threateningly.

“Marlon,” Ben tried again, “stop aiming that at her.” _He's not gonna listen,_ he knew. _He's too far gone._

Clementine acted as if she didn't hear either of them as she turned to the rest of the kids. “Brody told me: Marlon was gonna give me and AJ up to raiders in exchange for safety. And once they wanted more? It'd be Ben and OJ, taken away for the raiders to do who-knows-what to us!”

Ben felt his stomach rolling, head bowed down to the ground to stop his instinct to throw up. OJ held fast onto his hand, and he twitched his head upwards to look at Ben, eyes pooled with tears. _This can't be happening. This can't. We were done with raiders. No more raiders and no more bandits. This can't be happening._ “What the _fuck_ ,” was all he could say. He would have swallowed if his throat wasn't bone dry.

Clementine looked around at the kids as she finished:

_“Just like he did with Sophie and Minnie!”_

The pained shatter wordlessly swam across the kids, there was an electric, sorrowful tension sweeping across with every roll of thunder and every raindrop that threatened to fall.

“Oh, my God!” Ruby had her hand to her mouth, already teary-eyed.

“What!?” Ben finally choked. “But-but they died! They were eaten by walkers!” _Aasim, Omar, Louis… they all said they got killed!_

From the corner of his vision, Ben saw Tenn tense up next to him. Finally, Ben lifted his head to catch his horrified expression. No words could be said by either of them, there was nothing to say.

Sophie and Minnie’s death was a lie. An awful, horrible lie that not even _Ben_ would have told.

“Shut the _fuck_ up, Clementine!” Marlon screamed, thrusting the gun at her face.

“Let her talk!” Aasim screamed back, silencing the scared leader into backing off again.

Ben tried to stagger forward towards them; He couldn't stand Clementine being in that kind of danger. OJ held him in place, though, giving him a silent pleading look to stay where he was.

Now that the floor was hers again, Clementine continued with a rage trembling her voice. “Brody told me the truth, and _that's_ when Marlon killed her!”

Ben and Louis turned and shared a scared look, and Mitch came forward with crossed arms and a scowl aimed at Marlon.

Marlon snuffed, throwing his unoccupied hand in the air. “Oh, come the _fuck_ on!” He started pacing, keeping the gun aimed at Clementine. “They only met up with these ‘raiders’ because Clem insisted they go out there! Quite a coincidence, isn't it?” He stopped and stared Clementine through the scope of the gun with the smallest hint of a smirk. “Shame I don't believe in those.” Before he went quiet he looked to Tenn beside Ben. “Think about it Tenn-- the first thing she did was attack you.”

Tenn looked down, mouth opening and closing as he reached up to wipe at his face.

Ben took another step forward. “If you're insisting that _we_ are apart of a group of raiders…”

“I mean, it checks out, huh?” Marlon managed to giggle a little though it was obviously forced. “All of a sudden, there's talk about raiders _right_ when you guys come along! Who knows, you could have been driving to them when we found you!”

“Then how the fuck did Brody hear about them!?” Clementine fired off.

As much as Ben hated him right now, as much as he wanted to believe he was wrong… Marlon had made a few sound points. _If he had kept the secret of the twins under wraps this whole time, this is the first time these kids have even heard anything of raiders-- right when we came around._

_Fuck you, Marlon._

Marlon answered Clementine's question with a sigh as he started pacing again, looking to the rest of the terrified kids with the gun raised up, as if to prove a point. “Remember how scared we were when the adults left. _I_ pulled us out of that fear-- _I_ gave us courage again.”

Back he was in front of Clementine. “Who are y'all gonna believe, huh? Johnny-Come-Lately and her little fucking lunatic? The goddamn _adult_!?” This time, as he aimed the gun at her, Clementine jumped back. “Or me-- your friend?”

Ben worked up the courage to step forward, knowing exactly what to say in his pulse of anger. “If you're gonna lie to a compulsive liar, you _really_ need to get better.”

Marlon tilted his head, his glare pointed at him. “So, the adult is the liar. Can't say you shocked me with that one.”

“At least I can fucking admit it!” Ben fired back.

Marlon didn't reply; he just settled his eyes back on Clementine, training the gun on her yet again.

“For the last time--” Ben started forward, but was held back by both AJ and OJ-- “get that gun away from Clem's face!”

“What are you gonna do to make me!?” Marlon snapped.

A quick survey of the situation told Ben it would look too bad if he attacked Marlon right now. He didn't doubt his strength, and with his obvious weak spots… he might end up dead. But if he didn't do anything, then Clementine could be the one on the ground.

_She's gonna die what do I do._

It was a tense silence that followed. Ben didn't know what to do or say to defend Clementine, but he _knew_ she was telling the truth. Marlon was a liar-- a bad one at that. He only hoped the rest of the kids could see through him. They had every right not to trust them, but he hoped-- just this once-- that he would be believed.

“Well, she did help us get food,” Omar tried to reason.

“What's good is food if a group of outsiders is just gonna come along and take it?” Aasim questioned back, arms crossed.

Omar held his hands up in defense. “I'm just saying.”

“Guys,” Ben mustered, turning to both of them. “Please, you have to understand-- Clem's telling the truth.”

“Yeah, why should we believe _you_?” Mitch snapped.

“You don't,” Ben said, “but _please_. I-I know Clem wouldn't lie about something like this. Plus, we haven't dealt with raiders since…”

Mitch fully turned to him, crossed arms tightening and glare darkening. “Since when, huh?”

Ben didn't answer.

“Man, this is fucked up!” Willy hissed, stepping back and closer to Mitch, who took the younger boy behind him away from Ben's view.

“We don't know them, y'all,” Ruby said softly, taking a few steps back away from Clementine. “I hate to say it, but we really don't.”

Ben tried to stop the lump in his throat, but all that expelled it was a choked sob. He reached up and gripped the edge of his hat, yanking it tight over his head to hide his face. He felt his ponytail loosen with the wind that whipped the storm closer to the school. With another roll of thunder, he felt the first sprinkles of rain.

He knew they were defeated.

Clementine snapped her head to the kids, eyes pleading in the streak of lightning that flashed over them. She was the opposite of Ben; shaking with a wild in her eyes reminiscent of the rabbits hunted that day.

She was alive and scared of it.

Her gaze settled on Violet, and she took in a breath. “Violet, you have to believe me.”

“You don't!” Marlon slowly turned his head to the blonde, whose eyes were wide at being put on the spot.

Violet hesitated, tightening her crossed arms as she glanced to the ground. Her eyebrows were turned up, mouth pulled into a frown.

Marlon scoffed. “Come on. You met her like, two days ago!” His voice was high with shock that Violet seemed to be considering going against him.

As much as Ben hated it, he couldn't blame Violet when she shook her head and looked back to her shoes. “Sorry, Clem,” she said in a small voice. “But, I don't know you. Not really.”

Fear and disappointment washed through Ben, and he kept one hand on his hat, the other holding OJ's tightly.

Clementine, on the other hand, didn't waver except in a sigh. “Come on. I know you can smell bullshit a mile away-- and you're telling me you believe his story?”

Ben's eyes went to Violet, trying to get a read on her expression, but she was hard to read. With a quick glance to Louis, he saw that he didn't know anything either.

It was tense, the only noise being Rosie's brutish barks and the crashing thunder from above that started pattering heavier raindrops. The wind picked up, whistling in Ben's ears and mixing with OJ's attempts to stop crying with his head halfway buried in his leg

Marlon shuffled a step forward. awaiting any objection with the gun aimed right between Clementine's eyes.

It was all Ben could focus on. The gun between his sister's eyes-- the threat that proved he wasn't kidding about killing the only girl he cared about.

Ben knew he was panicking, but he didn't know what else to do.

“Marlon,” he demanded, trembling where he stood. “I swear to god, put the fucking gun down!”

“Listen to this guy,” Marlon scoffed. “Of course he wants the _murderer_ to live. All adults are the fucking same.”

“Yeah, because that's my fucking _sister_ you're aiming at!” Ben finally stepped forward, unable to bear anymore. As he stormed towards the smaller kid, he saw him shrink back.

“You get the fuck back--”

“Then gimme the gun!”

“Ben.” Clementine took his shoulder from behind, a warning tone already in her voice. “Hey, calm down!”

“Sorry about not being calm when he's got a gun to your head!” Ben snapped back, sparing just a small look behind him at Clementine before his glare was back to Marlon.

“Yeah, and who brought the gun here?” Marlon snapped back, glaring daggers tight back at him. “Who the fuck put us all at risk!?” He craned his neck back to stare at Clementine over Ben's shoulder. “Clementine did! Don't you think she has this coming!?”

Ben let out nothing short of a snarling yell as he ignored the glaring pain in his leg. He stormed forward, lashing for the gun in Marlon's hands and grasping the barrel with immediate white-knuckle grip.

Marlon gasped, jerking his hands back but not letting go of the gun. His anger had now melted away, replaced in a flash of lightning “Hey, get back--!”

“Just… give me the gun!” Ben strained, wrestling his hold up a little bit. “Fuckin'--”

“Get away from me!” Marlon cried, jerking his knee up, but Ben easily blocked it and shoved him back a little. “Ben, stop--!”

“Hey!” Clementine shouted, “Ben, calm down!” She came forward a little, but stopped when AJ grabbed her hand.

“No, he's getting scary!” OJ insisted. “Stay away!”

“Marlon!” Louis cried among the exclamations from the rest of the kids.

Ben couldn't hear them over the crashing waves of rage swimming in his head. His shattered eyes bore holes right into Marlon's, his grit teeth nearly breaking under the pressure he clenched his jaw.

“I'm not... letting you…” Marlon grunted, forcing all his weight into keeping Ben from knocking him over. “Just fucking… go away--!” He tried shifting his hands on the gun, trying to wrestle it away to no avail.

Ben only struggled for another second before an ear-splitting **_BANG_ **made him stop.

The last thing he heard as he fell backwards, hard to the ground, was OJ screaming his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about you join the Noxia discord sonu can yell at me there for how much pain im putting these guys through
> 
> https://discord.gg/HnuZEXg


	14. The End Pt. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ericson Kids handle their broken leader while Clementine handles her broken brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the end of episode one! Episode 2 will start up soon just you wait!

Clementine could only watch in stricken horror as Ben screamed and fell backwards, hands flying up to his face as he thudded to the hard dirt.

_ “BEN!!”  _ OJ shrieked, tearing away from Clementine and AJ and falling roughly to his knees to his guardian's side, immediately grabbing his shoulders. “No, no,  _ Ben _ !”

“No!” Clementine echoed, being the next to run forward and drop to her knees. She bent her head low and picked him up by his shoulders, dragging him into her lap. “Ben, hey! Hey, can you hear me?” she managed through the lump in her throat.

AJ wrestled away from Louis's grip to join OJ and Clementine next to Ben's limp form. “Is he dead?” He asked, concern giving him a tremor in his tone. “Is-is he…?” He watched Clementine desperately shake him in her lap, tears starting to blur his vision.

“What the fuck!?” Violet exploded, storming forward and unsheathing her cleaver, standing between the injured man and her broken leader. “Marlon! Put the gun down,  _ now _ !"

Marlon was trembling as the rain picked up speed, Rosie was snarling and screaming at every noise, it was a surprise her throat hadn't given out. He was staring at Ben on the ground through Violet's side, eyes watery and wide. His breath hitched and shortened more and more as the realization of what he just did settled cold on his head with the rain.

“Ben,” Clementine said again, tears streaking from her eyes. She held his head in her arms, lightly running her hands through his hair as his hat fell backwards onto the ground. “Ben, hey,  _ please _ . Stay with me.” She wiped her hand over his bloodied cheek, streaking away sheets of rain and watching his blood run through the crevices of her fingers through the lightning. “No, this can't… you can't be…!”

“Ben!” OJ sobbed, gripping tight onto Ben's jacket, head bowed low to keep the rain out of his eyes; he was blind enough from the tears. “Ben, please wake up!”

Ben heard nothing but swimming noises and a shrill ringing in his ears. His eyes squinted and hurt, and he decided to just keep them closed. The whole left side of his face was on fire and pressed into Clementine's hand, making it sting more and more. All he could muster other than heavy, choked breathing was a strangled groan to let Clementine know he was alive. 

“I'm sorry,” Marlon gasped, taking a stagger step back as the gun fell out of his hands and clattered to the ground. “I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to--”

“You just fucking shot him!” Aasim cried, “Doesn't matter if you meant it or not--  _ Christ _ , dude!”

“Did you jus’ kill him?” Willy exclaimed, and the only thing stopping him from coming forward to investigate was Mitch, who had an iron grip on the back of his jacket.

“Will, stay back,” Mitch warned in a low protective voice. One look in the eye kept Willy back enough, and Mitch sent his hard stare back to Marlon.

“What the fuck, man,” Omar breathed, stepping forward and crossing his arms. “What are you thinking?”

“I-- I--!” Marlon bent over a little, grabbing his hair in his hands as she staggered away from Violet and her cleaver. “I swear, I never meant to hurt anyone!”

“Is Clementine telling the truth?” Violet asked simply, her voice dark. “Did you give Sophie and Minnie away to raiders?”

Marlon didn't answer, taking in deep breaths likely to keep himself from crying, but it wasn't working; tears flowed with the rain as he stared at the ground somberly.

“Did you?” Tenn asked, softer than Violet but more pleading as he came to the girl's side. 

Marlon slowly nodded.

 

Ben lifted his head a little, taking in a clearer breath now that his nose wasn't pressed into Clementine's elbow. “Clem…?” He barely managed. His face still burned, but now he felt the warm liquid pulsing from his cheek. His ear stung as well, and definitely didn't feel like it was in one piece anymore.

“Ben!” OJ gasped with the faintest hints of a smile. “You're awake!”

“You're alive!” AJ added, although there wasn't a hint of happiness on his face; it was all determined fear.

Clementine shuddered out a breath of relief, moving her head away so her tears didn't fall onto his face. “My god,” she whispered, trying to smile. “Ben, hey. Stay with me here, alright? You're gonna be fine.”

Ben saw her lips moving, but all he could hear was the ringing in his ears. “Wh-what?” He managed, “What'd you say?”

Clementine gasped, horror crossing her face before she tightened her hold on him. “No. Nonono, Ben. Not again, not--not again!” She gripped tight onto his letterman, swallowing hard. “Just-- just stay awake okay? It's just a graze-- you'll be fine!”

Once more, Ben didn't catch what she said over the ringing in his head. “I-I can't… you're gonna h-have to sp… speak up…”

 

“How can you say you never meant to hurt anyone when you fucking gave them away!?” Violet demanded, her grip knuckle white on her cleaver. “And I bet you actually killed Brody too, huh?”

Marlon stammered, guilty and knowing it, he couldn't even look Violet in the eye. “I-I didn't mean to! I just--” He hesitated, holding a hand up to gesture, but not knowing what to do. “She… I-I just…!”

“Holy shit, he killed her,” Aasim hissed, grabbing at his hair. “You fucking killed her!”

Louis was at a loss for words. As he locked eyes with his best friend, he felt his heart dip. “Marlon… you… what the f…”

Marlon gasped in a breath after choking back a sob. “Louis, I swear. I never meant to hurt anyone!”

“So you didn't mean to hurt Sophie and Minnie by trading them away?” Mitch fired off.

“You told me they DIED!” Tenn screamed, cutting everyone off abruptly. He reached his sleeves up to scrub at his eyes as he sniffled. “I just… how could you  _ do that _ , Marlon!?” he sobbed.

Marlon turned his attention to Tenn, any attempt at defending himself gone. “I'm sorry,” he whispered, barely heard over a roll of thunder.

 

Ben finally managed to lift his head and reach his arm out, lifting himself off of Clementine's lap. “Jesus… what the fuck just…” he reached up and grazed his fingers over his bleeding cheek. “Did he…” He looked around and spotted AJ and OJ, huddled close and whispering while keeping a nervous eye on him. “Kids, hey, I'm… fine…”

"You got shot in the head!" AJ protested. "No, you're not fine!"

Ben squinted at the boy's moving lips, but once more couldn't make out what he said. "What did you… what?"

Another figure knelt down beside him, and he turned to find Ruby next to him with a cloth being taken out of her pocket. “Hey, Ben? Can you hear me?” She asked. She shook out the cloth a little, flinging rain droplets from it before holding it out to him.

“I don't think he can,” Clementine replied nervously, “He didn't hear me when I was talking to him, or anything. I-I don't think he heard AJ, either.”

"He lost his hearing?" OJ asked in a squeak.

Ruby sighed and watched as Ben took the cloth and pressed it to his bleeding cheek and ear, darting his eyes around like a scared squirrel. “Well, the gun went off right next to his ear, he might be deaf for a bit."  She looked up to the boys sympathetically. "He should get his hearing back in the next few minutes, don't worry.”

“Did he just fucking shoot me?” Ben hissed, looking at both the girls next to him. Through the cloth, he felt his ear and confirmed his suspicions that, along with his cheek, his ear had been torn by the bullet. He didn't hear them, but he got his confirmation when his wild eyes found Clementine.

He took the next few ringing moments to catch his breath.

 

“I wanted to get them back,” Marlon said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Stage some kind of rescue. Honest, Tenn. I-I wanted to save them but…” He hugged his arms around himself and let out a sob. “I was just so fucking scared.”

“So you just gave them away,” Violet stated, flicking her cleaver in her hands with a shaky breath. “And you didn't even tell us. You just made up some lie.”

Marlon didn't try to defend himself. “I-I knew you guys would hate me for it. So I jus’... made it seem like it wasn't my fault.”

“I dunno what's worse,” Omar murmured, “the fact he lied or the fact we believed it.”

“Walkers my ass,” Aasim hissed under his breath. “What's the fucking safe zone for, then!?” He stepped closer to Marlon, ferocity storming in his eyes. “Are you really willing to let us starve just so you could keep up some lie? Fucking really!?”

Marlon only kept his gaze at Aasim for a moment before looking down, ashamed.

 

Clementine rubbed Ben's back as he finally sat up on his own, keeping the blood-and-rain-soaked cloth pressed to his face. “Are you alright?” She asked. “Can you hear me?”

Now, her voice was starting to seep through the ringing in his ears. She repeated her previous question, and he slowly and numbly nodded. “A little…”

“A little, okay.” Ruby got to her knees, then stood up. “Maybe you should stay with him while we deal with Marlon.” She locked her gaze onto Marlon, still pleading with Violet and Tenn. “Thanks so much for your help, but we can handle it from here."

Clementine nodded and gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you, really. I appr--”

She cut herself off when she spotted OJ scrambling forward with his pipe raised up.

Ben saw him too, through the confused haze. “OJ, what are you...” he slurred.

 

“Just… let me go,” Marlon pleaded, his voice thick with sobs. “I’ll leave, and I won’t come back, you’ll never have to see me again. Let me become… a bad memory.”

Violet crossed her arms, but she didn’t know what to say. Nobody did.

“Marlon,” Louis finally said. “Listen, we can fix this. You don’t have to--”

Everyone could only watch as OJ rushed Marlon, slamming his pipe into his knees. 

Marlon screamed and fell down, startling everybody in the courtyard. “Ow!! Little fuckin'--” He screamed out again as OJ smashed his pipe into his knee once more.

“What the fuck!?” Louis immediately came forward towards Marlon, but stopped when he saw the fear twinkling in OJ's eyes. “What do you think you're doing!?”

“OJ!” Ben struggled to stand, and ultimately couldn't. “What the hell are you--!?”

AJ ran forward next, darting in front of Violet and snatching his gun off the ground.

“AJ!” Clementine cried. “No, put that down--!”

AJ aimed the gun right between Marlon's eyes and-- unlike the beaten leader-- didn't hesitate in firing off a single shot that rang throughout the night. 

Nobody had any words to say as they all stared down the children standing over Marlon's body. The rain started to come down in sheets, lightning not sparing a second of darkness as Rosie barked nonstop from her tight chain.

AJ and OJ filled the silence.

“What? I aimed for the head.”

“...And I hit it as hard as I could.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah..... yall shoulda seen that coming. How about you join the Noxia discord so u can personally yell at me
> 
> https://discord.gg/HnuZEXg


	15. Mo(u)rning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AJ and OJ get a scolding by their guardians. After all, killing a boy won't come without consequence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOO, here we are, kicking off episode 2! Things are about to get Pretty Spicy, I hope you stick around to eat the chili!

“Stop picking at it.”

Ben jerked his hand away from his face with a sigh, snapping an aggravated look to Clementine on the other side of the room. “I was just rubbing it.” Hair fell in front of his eyes, and he kept his eyes on the hair band around his skinny wrist.

Clementine watched him back with a softer expression, her hands in her lap. “Picking at it is just gonna make it worse.”

Ben scoffed. “I think an open graze is the least of our problems right now.” His voice was raw and scratchy, and as much as he denied it his half-scabbed graze _hurt_. Though, the ache in his chest hurt even more. 

“Infection is no joke,” Clementine replied, still not moving from her rigid, worried stance at the edge of her bed. It was clear she was trying to put some light into the sunny room, but Ben's nerves were shot; there was no lightning him up.

“Yeah, and neither is last night.” Ben snapped, tossing his hands in the air as he got to his feet, staring out the window into the courtyard, where bright sunny morning flitted through the dust of the room. 

It would have been a nice, calm morning if Ben was going hunting like he had planned with Aasim. Instead, he was up in Clementine's room, still reeling from the image of watching the very children he swore to raise kill a teenager in front of him.

The very children that were sitting on chairs with their hands in their laps, looking down ashamedly at their feet.

“For the record--” Clementine slowly, cautiously, stood up and grabbed at the railings of the top bunk of her bed-- “you were the one that started it.”

Ben snuffed, locking his jaw.

“We could have talked him down if you didn't charge him like that,” Clementine continued. “He wasn't going to shoot.”

“Sorry, but I've seen you at gunpoint one too many times to take a chance like that.” Ben's chest rose with an angry breath as he locked eyes with Clementine. His stance had tensed, his back trembling with pressure as his hands closed into fists. 

“I wasn't lying out there,” Clementine tried, gently reaching up and putting her hand on his shoulder. “He needed us alive one way or the other. And… I knew he couldn't do it.” She swallowed, feeling her chest darken as Ben looked away to the ground. “That was probably the first time he had ever held a real gun in his life. You think he was willing to pull the trigger on me?”

“Yeah, but when it came to me, I was fair game.” Ben roughly jerked Clementine's hand off his shoulder, staggering a step back from her. He stared her down with shaky breath. “He was going to give us away to raiders. Fucking raiders, Clem!”

“We were talking him down!” Clementine said, her voice raising just a little. She saw him step back a little, and sighed. “Look. I know you get high strung really easily, and last night was just a panic attack waiting to happen, but…”

Ben watched her, but didn't press her when she didn't finish. Instead, he started his own sentence.

“No, you don't know.” He swallowed and leaned on his bunk railings with heavy breaths, his voice rising in volume as he ranted. “You keep saying that you know how I feel, you know what I'm thinking, but you just _don't,_ Clem. ‘High strung really easily’ doesn't really do this whole panic disorder justice!”

Clementine opened her mouth, but stopped herself when OJ's little voice piped up. 

“Ben… you're getting scary again.”

Ben stopped with a heavy breath in his chest, wide eyes flitting to the kids. He felt a stricken pain in his chest, his throat swallowing hard. Quickly, he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and sat back down on the bed. “S-Sorry, OJ. I didn't mean to… I wasn't trying to scare you.”

OJ hiked his shoulders up a little as he hunched forward. “You were scary last night, too.”

Ben's sour mood rotted even sourer. OJ's simple words felt like a kick in the head, with a sick twist in his stomach silencing him for a couple of moments before he uttered out a, “Sorry, buddy.”

AJ tapped his shoes together before taking in a breath. “Was… was Louis right last night? About what he called us?”

Louis's breakdown last night was something Ben never thought he'd see in a boy like him. Though, he couldn't blame him. After everything they did to Marlon, Louis was right to scream like he did.

 

\--

 

The second the bullet stopped ringing through the air, Louis's screams filled the silence it would have left.

 _“NO!!”_ He rushed forward, skidding on his knees next to Marlon's body. "No, nono, Marlon!" He grabbed the boy's jacket by the collar, desperately shaking him, as if trying to wake him up.

 _"Shit!"_ Violet's hands were half-raised, shock keeping her frozen like a statue.

"What the fuck was that!?" Mitch exploded, backpedaling from the scene and dragging Willy along with him.

"Oh, my god…!" Omar was the next to reel back, grasping at his jacket nervously. "Did he just…"

"AJ, what did you-- why did--" Ben struggled once again to get to his feet, and once again failed. His knees were halfway bent, feet scrambling on the slick dirt and concrete. His arms were on each side of him, supporting him as he leaned back with a wide, horrified expression.

The rain was coming down like a shower of bullets, no jacket being enough to shelter anyone from the harsh pelts of anger. By now, everyone was effectively soaked. The lightning wasn't sparing a second to crack and boom, shaking everyone to their core.

"There's-- there's medicine," Ruby tried hopefully, "in the nurse's office. We can fix--"

"He's dead." Mitch shook his head disdainfully, tight arms crossed as he watch Louis sob over Marlon's body. "That kid just blew his fucking brains out."

Ben was speechless as he managed to his feet with Clementine's help. The two little boys were staring at him, heads tilted with a confused stare.

Louis now raised his head, still crouched low over Marlon. "What the _FUCK_ !?" He screamed, ripping his hands away from Marlon's jacket. "Why did you _do that_!?"

AJ and OJ whirled around to face him, although OJ shrank back. AJ lowered his gun to his side and stood his ground.

"He shot Ben in the head!" AJ defended. "He was gonna hurt us!"

"He was down!" Louis cried back, now standing up and towering over him. "We talked him down! And then you-- you just--!" 

"What the hell was that about?" Ben finally gasped, squinting hard to focus his vision. Finally, his hearing came back so he could listen to what the kids had to defend themselves. "Why… why did…"

"You told us," OJ said. "You and Clem always say that when the monsters come, we have to aim for the head and--"

"Marlon wasn't a monster!" Louis screamed. He opened his mouth to scream again, but no words came out. He back stepped away from the kids, his hands reaching up and grabbing at his shirt. He looked AJ and OJ in the eyes as the words finally came to him.

"You attacked him-- shot him. He's dead." A shaky breath in, and he finished. "You're a fucking murderer. Both of you."

The rest of the kids were quiet as Louis continued to rant, eyes now on Ben. "We were gonna fix it! We were gonna help him fix things! _What the fuck did you teach these kids!?_ "

 

\--

 

Ben swallowed hard, his thumb grazing the edge of his wound on his cheek.

"He called us murderers," AJ said. "Was he right?"

"Well…" Clementine started carefully. "That's where it gets complicated." Her hands were wound together in her lap as she sat down on her bed. "What you two did last night-- that was awful. _Extremely_ uncalled for."

"But--" OJ started.

Ben gently held up his hand. "OJ, listen." He hated the words coming out of his mouth, and hated them even more that they spoke truth. "It doesn't matter what your intentions were, you killed Marlon. That--" he took in a breath, looking at Clementine with sad eyes. "That was murder."

Both boys' heads dropped, and Ben could just _feel_ the instant regret from both of them. OJ hugged his arms around his chest, squirming uncomfortably in his seat. AJ fumbled his hands together, picking at a loose speck of skin on his thumb for a distraction he so desperately needed.

Everyone was mad at them last night, and Ben couldn't blame them. They went back to their dorm, and he saw them out the window digging two graves in the rain.

Still, it was nice for the small amount of defense they had in the form of Violet and Aasim.

 

\--

 

Ben had OJ and AJ behind him and Clementine beside him holding onto his sleeve as the kids closed in.

There was a sad fury coming closer, and all Ben could do was wordlessly stare. He knew how wrong he was; he knew he couldn’t blame them, but with every clenched fist and grit tooth, he felt fear building up in the back of his chest, snaking round his ribs and making it hard to breathe. He cast a glance down to OJ, who was staring up with wide eyes at the kids around him. His pipe was on the ground next to him, his hands clenched around the hem of Ben’s jacket.

When Aasim and Violet ran forward, Ben flinched back and expected the worst. “Don’t--!” He started. _Don't hurt the kids, please!_

“Back off, all of you!” Violet exclaimed, sweeping her cleaver in front of her at all the other kids. Despite the tear tracks on her face nearly pelted out by the rain, a fire blazed in her eyes.

“Hey, we said back the fuck up!” Aasim added when Mitch nearly came forward. He held his fists up, a definite try to be intimidating.

Ben gaped at them with an open mouth for a few moments. _What are they doing?_

Nobody said anything for a tense moment before Violet spared a small look to Clementine and Ben. “Clem, take the kids and go to your room. Now. You too, Ben.”

Clementine swallowed, taking AJ by the shoulder and gently tugging Ben along. “Come on, AJ,” she shakily breathed out.

As the four slowly staggered off, Louis scoffed after them. “Oh, what-- just let them go back to the dorms!?”

"Louis, stay back," Violet demanded.

"Let's all chill the hell out," Aasim agreed. "Just let them--"

"Chill out?" Louis exclaimed, "You want me to just chill the fuck out, and let them go back to bed! What the _fuck_ is wrong with you!?"

“Do you really think we’re gonna sleep after this?” Ben shot out, turning to face him.

“Ben,” Aasim snapped, shooting him a demanding stare. “Just go. We’ll handle this.”

"Ben?" OJ squeaked, gripping tight onto his hand.

 

\--

 

"Ben?" 

Ben jerked his head up, not realizing he had spaced out. OJ was now sitting next to Ben on the bed, hands wound together in his jacket pocket. 

"Am I a monster now?" OJ asked. "Murderers are monsters, right?"

"No," Ben immediately replied, "OJ, you're not a monster. You-you just… you made a _very_ bad decision."

"That wound up with a murder," OJ mumbled sadly, looking at his lap.

"This isn't a hopeless case," Clementine said, moving down her bed to be closer to the chairs letting AJ sit next to her. "We can still make this right. You can learn to atone for what you've done."

AJ looked up to the girl. “A-tone?” he slowly sounded out.

Clementine tilted her head in concentration. “It means that… you know what you did was bad, and you’re trying to make it better.”

"Like, an apology?" OJ asked. "Like when AJ apologized to Ruby for biting her hand."

"It's like that, but… more with actions and  not words," Ben explained. "This isn't gonna get fixed with a simple sorry. It's gonna take time for them to trust us again."

"If they ever do at all," Clementine added somberly. AJ was still troubled, easily seen by his eyebrows knit and his eyes cast downwards. "Hey, what is it?" Clementine gently asked.

AJ looked up to Clementine, and then glanced to Ben. "You guys have killed a lot of people."

Ben felt a strike in his heart. "yeah…?"

AJ looked back to Clementine. "Did you kill your friend Lee because he was a monster?"

Clementine immediately jerked her head back. "Wh-what brought that on?" She asked. Ben heard the uncertainty edging her voice.

"Was it murder that killed him? You shot him, so it was murder, right?"

Clementine paused for a heavy moment. 

"AJ," Ben softly said, "Lee was a different situation." He knew Clementine hated talking about what happened with Lee; just like he never liked talking about Kenny, or Omid and Christa.

"I killed him because I loved him," Clementine finally spoke, looking at AJ with sad eyes. "I didn't want him to suffer."

"How?" AJ asked. "He'd be dead."

"He would have turned. I didn't want that for him-- he deserved better." Clementine finally went silent with her eyes staring at her boots.

"What about Dad?" OJ piped up.

Ben's throat went dry.

"Did you have to murder Dad so he wouldn't suffer?" OJ gently took Ben's sleeve in his hand.

Ben was silent, trying to block out screams of the past.

_"Christa, he's turning!"_

_"Don't you put your fucking hands on him!"_

_"Christa, I'm sorry, but we have to--"_

_"NO!!"_

"It was mercy," Ben finally said in a raspy whisper.

Another long silence was spent in the morning sun before AJ said, "I love you, Clem."

Clem shuddered out a breath before turning to smile at the boy. "I love you back."

The guardians both hugged their kids, letting small tears escape past their eyes.

It didn't matter what came next, Ben knew he wasn't going to let OJ make his same mistakes again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, we have the Noxia Discord Server, for all your rambling about this fic, and answering questions you may have about the future! We hope you'll join us :D
> 
> https://discord.gg/HnuZEXg


	16. Hiatus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry, and no this isn't a new chapter :(

So, a little announcement.

Due to my participation in National November Writing Month this year, Noxia is going on a hiatus starting today. I'll need to put my attention on my story for NaNoWriMo, so this fic, along with any others I have in production, is going on the back burner at least until December.

I know it's a long wait, and I know we just started episode 2, but I hope you guys will be patient with me!

You can track progress of my story for NaNoWriMo if you so wish if you follow my main tumblr, rarewubbox. I'll be posting updates about it under the tag "NNFG" starting,,, whenever I make a post for it.

Anyway, sorry to make you come all this way just for a road block! I hope you guys understand.


End file.
